At least 73 train passengers were killed and 40 were injured when a gas stove exploded on board of packed Rawalpindi-bound Tezgam Express near Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan on Thursday morning.
Passengers leaped to their death, trying to escape the raging fire, which devoured several train cars in eastern Pakistan.
The packed train was traveling from Karachi to the city of Rawalpindi in eastern Punjab province when a gas cylinder blew up inside.
The cylinder was booked by a group of passengers who were using it to boil eggs on a gas stove when the blast happened. Cooking oil added fuel to the blaze, which spread rapidly, completely burning three cars.
Firefighters were deployed to the site, and military helicopters were flown in to airlift the injured.
At least 73 people perished in the incident. “Most deaths occurred from people jumping off the train,” Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad told Geo News. The bodies of those left inside were charred beyond recognition.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said he is “deeply saddened by the terrible tragedy,” and ordered an “immediate” investigation.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- The cylinder was booked by a group of passengers who were using it to boil eggs on a gas stove when the blast happened.
- The packed train was traveling from Karachi to the city of Rawalpindi in eastern Punjab province when a gas cylinder blew up inside.
- At least 73 train passengers were killed and 40 were injured when a gas stove exploded on board of packed Rawalpindi-bound Tezgam Express near Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan on Thursday morning.
