Mehrabpur train derailment
Encyclopedia
The Mehrabpur derailment was a fatal railway accident
that occurred shortly after 02:00 local time on 19 December 2007 near the town of Mehrabpur
in the Sindh
province of Pakistan
.
to Lahore
, and was packed with passengers returning home for the Eid ul-Adha
Islamic holiday. At around 2:25 a.m. local time, fourteen of the train's sixteen carriages left the tracks, some being mangled by the crash, others simply sliding down an embankment into the water.
Sabotage and terrorism were ruled out as the reason for the crash, with officials believing a faulty track was the cause of the derailment. The death toll was initially estimated as at least 56 people, but Junaid Qureshi, director of operations for the state-run Pakistan Railways
, later lowered the official estimate to 40 deaths and 269 injuries.
Among local people and those who were traveling through accident area, opinions about the number of deceased is much higher, estimated between 400 and 800 dead (with an average of around 500) and over a thousand injured. This is based upon the fact that 14 bogie
s were almost completely wrecked, and only two of the carriages were left more or less intact, with others being severely damaged.
Given that the accident took place in the holiday period, practically all the seats and sleepers were occupied, bringing the number of people in one carriage close to 80, therefore justifying higher estimation.
Train wreck
A train wreck or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler...
that occurred shortly after 02:00 local time on 19 December 2007 near the town of Mehrabpur
Mehrabpur
Mehrabpur is a city in the Naushahro Feroze District of Sindh in Pakistan.The city is administratively subdivided into 2 Union Concil....
in the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Incident
The train, "Karachi Express", was an express service from KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, and was packed with passengers returning home for the Eid ul-Adha
Eid ul-Adha
Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice...
Islamic holiday. At around 2:25 a.m. local time, fourteen of the train's sixteen carriages left the tracks, some being mangled by the crash, others simply sliding down an embankment into the water.
Sabotage and terrorism were ruled out as the reason for the crash, with officials believing a faulty track was the cause of the derailment. The death toll was initially estimated as at least 56 people, but Junaid Qureshi, director of operations for the state-run Pakistan Railways
Pakistan Railways
This article is about the rail company in Pakistan. For technical details and operations see: Transport in Pakistan.Pakistan Railways is a national state-owned rail transport service of Pakistan, head-quartered in Lahore. It is administered by the federal government under the Ministry of Railways....
, later lowered the official estimate to 40 deaths and 269 injuries.
Among local people and those who were traveling through accident area, opinions about the number of deceased is much higher, estimated between 400 and 800 dead (with an average of around 500) and over a thousand injured. This is based upon the fact that 14 bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s were almost completely wrecked, and only two of the carriages were left more or less intact, with others being severely damaged.
Given that the accident took place in the holiday period, practically all the seats and sleepers were occupied, bringing the number of people in one carriage close to 80, therefore justifying higher estimation.