In a highly tragic incident, at least 46 people lost their lives while several were injured as fire engulfed an express train in Liaqatpur near Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday morning. The Karachi-Rawalpindi Tezgam express train was en route for Lahore from Karachi.
The incident took place in the wee hours when the three coaches of train caught fire. Few reports quoted Pakistani officials saying that the massive fire on a train was caused by a cooking gas.
“Two cooking stoves blew up. They were cooking, they had (cooking) oil which added fuel to fire,” Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Geo television.
According to the media reports, some of the people were killed when they jumped from the moving train to escape the flames.
The injured are being shifted to nearby hospitals. Rescue operations are underway.
