WAZIRABAD/GUJRANWALA - At least 14 people, including a military Unit Commander, were killed on Thursday noon when a train carrying hundreds of military personnel and their families plunged into a canal in a bridge collapse in Gujranwala district.
Dozens of those injured in the crash near Wazirabad town were taken to hospitals while rescue operation, involving helicopters, rubber dinghies and divers was still going on well into the night. Television images of the scene showed at least four carriages partly submerged in the canal.
Six passenger bogies, three of them reserved for army personnel and their families, were attached to the ill-fated freight train that was heading for Kharian from Pano Aqil and met the accident near Jamke Chattha. The army suspected it could be an act of sabotage, though civil administration said the preliminary investigation did not show any such signs.
The incident came as an army unit was being transported from southern Sindh to northern Pakistan. “There were around 300 passengers on board, “Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq said, adding, “It is too early to say about the reason for the mishap.”
According to military’s media wing - ISPR, Unit Commander Lt-Col Amir Jadoon, his wife and daughter, Lieutenant Abbas, Captain Kashif, Major Adil, Lance Naik Zafar, Sultan, soldier Saleem, dishwasher Riaz Ahmed, washer man Ghani and train driver Riaz Ahmed were among the dead.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed concern on the tragic incident and directed the authorities to provide best medical assistance to the injured and arrange their return to their destination points. Railways minister also ordered mobilization of all resources to help the victims and early restoration of the track.
Gujranwala Corps Commander Ghayur Ahmad, Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Punjab Home Minister Shujah Khanzada, Gujranwala RPO and DCO, and other officials of railways and civil administration reached at the spot soon after the incident and supervised the rescue operation. A relief team carrying technical, mechanical and medical teams also reached at the spot from Lahore on the directives of Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent.
Gujranwala Station Commander Brig Kamran was leading the rescue operation that was still underway at night. According to railways minister, 92 passengers had been rescued with the help of local residents, divers and army personnel while six passengers were still missing. Many of the injured were taken to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Gujranwala Cantt.
A senior military official said the army suspected sabotage. “We suspect that this was an act of sabotage... The planks on the rail were tampered with,” the official said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The military is fighting a Taliban insurgency in several regions of the country’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan in the northwest. In May, a Pakistan military helicopter carrying diplomats to inspect a tourist project crashed, killing seven people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines.
The collapse also raises concerns about the safety of infrastructure. Several TV channels reported that the bridge had been marked as “extremely dangerous”. Pakistan inherited thousands of miles of track and trains from the former colonial power, Britain, but the railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and under-investment.
Railways Minister Saad Rafiq said that initial report of the investigation will be received today while complete report will be finalised within 72 hours. He said that army and Railways officers were holding inquiry into the matter. He said that the bridge was declared fit in November in a routine inspection. He told that bridges are examined 4 times a year.
But RPO Faisal Shahkar and DCO Azmat Mehmood told the media that according to preliminary investigation, the incident most probably occurred because of bad condition of old bridge as no evidence of any kind of sabotage was found.
Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif visited CMH Gujranwala and met injured of train accident and inquired about their health. According to ISPR, the COAS also attended the Namaz-e-Janaza of the martyrs.