The death toll from the collision of two trains in south-central Pakistan has risen to 62 in a crash that has highlighted safety problems in the country's dilapidated rail network that has seen little investment in decades.
Dozens of people were also injured when a packed inter-city train rammed another express train that had derailed near the town of Dherki in Sindh Province on June 7.
The reason for the initial derailment is not yet clear.
“We fear more people may die,” said Usman Abdullah, local administration chief in Ghotki district said on June 8. “Some of the injured people are in a critical condition.”
Much of the wreckage of the crushed carriages have been cleared, and welders were finalizing repairs to the damaged rails, according to media reports.
The track would be reopened later on June 8, a spokesperson for the state-owned railway operator said.
Officials said the accident occurred when an express train heading from the port city of Karachi to Sargodha derailed before dawn. Another express train coming from Rawalpindi in the opposite direction then collided into it.
In parliament, the opposition criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government for failing to properly manage the railway system, and government officials accused the opposition of "corruption" during their tenure in government.
The South Asian country has seen a string of deadly train accidents over the past years, often caused by derailment and collisions at unmanned railway crossings.
Train travel is a very popular mode of travel in the South Asian country. Carriages are often overcrowded, and many of the trains are in poor condition.
