Pakistan train collision kills nine, injures 66

[ISLAMABAD] At least nine people were killed and more than 60 injured when two trains collided in central Pakistan early Thursday, officials said.

The incident took place in Rahim yar Khan district in Punjab province when a passenger train coming from the eastern city of Lahore rammed into a goods train that had stopped at a crossing, a senior government official said.

"At least nine dead bodies have been retrieved," local police officer Omar Salamat told TV channel Geo News.

Mr Salamat said 66 passengers were injured in the accident and had been taken to nearby hospitals.

"The condition of three to four passengers is critical," he said.

Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where the railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

TV footage from the site showed the heavily damaged train engine and carriages, as emergency workers and local people used metal-cutting tools and heavy cranes.

Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, the country's minister for railways told TV channel Aaj that an investigation had been launched to determine the causes of the incident.

In June, three people were killed when two trains collided in southern Sindh province.

AFP