14 killed, 79 injured in Pakistan train collision
Lahore: At least 14 passengers were killed and 79 others injured on Thursday when an express train rammed into a stationery freight train in Pakistan's Punjab province, officials said.
The Quetta bound Akbar Express collided with the stationary freight train at the Walhar Railway Station in Sadiqabad Tehsil of the province, Dawn quoted officials as saying.
The freight train was on the loop line when the speeding passenger train instead of running on the main line entered the wrong track.
At least 14 people were killed while 79 others were injured when the passenger train, the Akbar Express, collided with the freight train, rescue officials told DawnNewsTV.
All passengers, onboard the train headed to Quetta, have been removed from the train and track clearance operations were underway, Deputy Commissioner Rahim Yar Khan, Jamil Ahmed Jamil said.
He said that heavy machinery was being used to rescue passengers who were stuck in the train, adding that they were being provided with food and water.
Authorities said the Pakistan Army was also taking part in the rescue efforts. The engine of the Akbar Express was completely destroyed in the accident while three compartments were also damaged, police said.
The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals of Sadiqabad and Rahim Yar Khan for treatment where an emergency has been declared, Geo news reported.
A child and a man have been rescued from the train, the report said. Officials say they fear more casualties in the accident.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi have expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the train accident.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Khan said he has asked Railways Minister to take emergency steps to counter decades of neglect of railway infrastructure and ensure safety standards.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has ordered an investigation into the accident. He said that the accident appeared to have occurred due to human negligence.
He announced compensation of Rs 1.5 million for the families of the deceased and Rs 0.5 million each for the injured, Dawn newspaper reported.
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Baramati plane crash: Rohit Pawar alleges attempts to shield VSR Ventures
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday alleged that someone was trying to save VSR Ventures in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and claimed that the AAIB preliminary probe vindicated the doubts earlier raised by him.
He also accused VSR company of indulging in several grave lapses in the past.
The Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures, crashed near the Baramati air strip in Pune district on January 28, killing Pawar and four others.
In its 22-page preliminary report on the VSR Venture's Learjet plane crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the visibility at the time of the crash was below the required level. It also flagged about fading marks on the runway and presence of loose gravels on the runway surface.
Pawar said, "I am not against VSR or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Ajitdada was travelling in a VSR aircraft. Unless we go into the depth of every aspect, we will not know the truth. But someone is trying to save this company. The doubts we had raised have been proven correct in the inquiry report."
He also claimed that the AAIB report contained discrepancies, including mentioning Baramati as a district, and questioned how seriously the probe had been conducted.
Pawar, who has been regularly holding press conferences to raise issues concerning the Baramati plane crash, also contested the report's conclusion that the aircraft hit trees before crashing.
"The report says the aircraft struck trees and then fell. But there are no trees at that spot. There is only a small bush which the aircraft did not even touch. What is stated in the report about hitting trees is incorrect," he said.
Pawar further alleged that VSR Ventures had displayed irresponsibility on multiple occasions, citing an incident involving the then chief minister Eknath Shinde's Davos visit on January 20, 2023.
He claimed that the aircraft carrying Shinde had entered Iranian and Iraqi airspace without overflight permission, following which fighter jets from the two countries allegedly warned of action, forcing a change in route from Bahrain to Zurich.
"There have been several such grave lapses by VSR," he said.
Pawar demanded to know from where VSR Ventures derived its "audacity", and sought details about its investors and officials, though he added that he was not personally concerned with who they were.
Drawing a comparison, he said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken over the probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death within two days, whereas a month had passed since the Baramati crash without a similar action.
He claimed that VSR Ventures had two directors and three shareholders, and that there were eight common names across two related companies.
He further alleged that the owner of VSR was related to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and questioned why the company, though registered in Delhi, had made high-value investments in Jubilee Hills (upscale area in Hyderabad) at rates allegedly Rs 17 crore above the market price.
The MLA representing the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district also raised concerns about the legal and institutional framework of the AAIB under the 2017 rules, claiming it was neither a statutory nor an autonomous body and remained answerable to the secretary and the minister, besides being attached to the DGCA.
"There is no independent investigative agency," he alleged.
