At least 16 killed as trains collide in Pakistan; more than 40 injured

Authorities say rescue teams were working to save people, who were trapped in the wreckage.

Pakistan train collision kills at least 16, more than 40 injured
Representational Image Reuters

At least 16 people died and dozens were injured when two trains collided in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Thursday, the second major rail collision in less than two months.

"Death toll is 16 until now," Javen Akbar Riaz, a senior police officer in Karachi, told Reuters. Dr. Seemin Jamali, Head of the Emergency Department, said nearly 40 wounded people were taken to Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, the biggest city of Pakistan.

The local media reported that the collision took place between the Zakaria Express and Fareed Express trains. The television footage showed mangled carriages of the trains. Authorities said rescue teams were working to save people who are trapped in the wreckage.

Train traffic was suspended between Karachi and the rest of the country after the accident occurred near the city's Landi Railway Station.

In September, an express train collided with a freight train near the city of Multan in Punjab province killing at least six people and injuring 93. Train accidents are quite common in Pakistan and the railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

Last year in November, 19 people died in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province after a train's brakes failed and it sped down the side of a mountain.

**This story is developing**

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