At least 73 dead in massive train fire in eastern Pakistan

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Asia & Pacific
At least 73 dead in massive train fire in eastern Pakistan

By Shaiq Hussain
Oct. 31, 2019 at 5:27 a.m. EDT
ISLAMABAD — At least 73 people died Thursday in a fire on a train traveling through Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, according to local health officials.

Yasmeen Rashid, the provincial health minister, told Samaa news station that more than 40 people were also injured in the blaze and a state of emergency was declared in nearby hospitals. News channels quoted other health officials to say the toll had risen to 73.

The fire erupted when a cooking gas stove exploded as passengers were preparing breakfast while the train was underway, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad told The Washington Post.

“This is the initial information, but I have ordered a complete probe into the incident and I am going there myself now,” Ahmed said.

As the flames raced through three of the carriages, people threw themselves off the speeding train, many of them to their death.
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In this photo released by Punjab Emergency Service Rescue on Oct. 31, 2019, residents gather beside the burned-out train carriages after a passenger train caught on fire near Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province. (Handout/Pakistan's Punjab Emergency Serv)