Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday ordered an inquiry into a train accident in Karachi and sought punishment for those found responsible.
The prime minister directed immediate rescue and relief activities to save lives of those stranded and critically injured persons and called for best medical treatment for them.
He expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured.
At least 18 people were killed and more than 40 injured when two passenger trains collided Thursday morning near Karachi’s Landi Railway Station, hospital officials said.
Railway officials gave green signal to the train coming from behind by mistake, and it went on to hit the train at rest, said Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Labour Senator Saeed Ghani.
Earlier in September, four people were killed as a passenger train collided with a goods train near Multan.
Last November, 19 people were killed in Baluchistan after a train’s brakes failed and it sped down the side of a mountain.
In July 2015, at least 17 people were killed when a special military train fell into a canal after a bridge partially collapsed.
