A train travelling through central Pakistan hit an overloaded motorcycle rickshaw at an unmanned railway crossing, killing up to 14 people, a senior police officer says.
Himayun Tarar said the crash Saturday happened near Khanpur village in Shaikhupura district of Punjab province.
Tarar said the rickshaw driver didn't notice the train and tried to cross the tracks.Pakistani police and media officials gather around the bodies of the train accident victims in Khanpur town of district Shaikhupura, Pakistan, on Saturday after the train collided with an overloaded rickshaw.
Reports pegged the death toll at anywhere from 12 to 14.
"Twelve people died on the spot. Four people with critical injuries were taken to hospital, of whom two expired," Muhammad Asim, a senior doctor at the local hospital, told AFP.
"Two of them were children under 12 years old," he said adding that many bodies were mutilated and unable to be identified.
The officer said many people died before rescue workers reached the crash.
Such crashes routinely occur in Pakistan, as the country has hundreds of unmanned rail crossings and motorists driving overloaded vehicles routinely speed through without looking for oncoming trains.
Pakistan has a poor railway system with a track dating back to British rule and old coaches. Many Pakistanis avoid travelling by train due to low safety standards and poor facilities.
Sunday 7 July 2013
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/07/06/pakistan-rickshaw-train-crash.html
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