At least four people were killed when a passenger train derailed near Multan in Pakistan's Punjab province on October 13, according to the provincial emergency service. Officials reported at least 17 injuries, while a rescuer at the scene gave a higher preliminary count of 25.
Farooq Ahmed, a spokesperson for Punjab's emergency services department, told AFP that authorities dispatched 11 ambulances and 30 rescue workers after receiving the call at 5:21 a.m. local time. Rescue teams searched damaged carriages and moved casualties from the site on the outskirts of Multan. An AFP journalist at the scene saw the body of one victim inside a carriage.
The difference between the two reported injury totals had not been reconciled in the initial account. Early casualty figures frequently change as responders move people to hospitals and agencies consolidate records. The confirmed official minimum in the available report was 17 injured and four dead.
The cause of the derailment remained unknown. Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed concern, and Zardari called for a transparent investigation to determine why the train left the tracks. No preliminary mechanical, signaling or operational explanation was included in the report.
Pakistan relies on an extensive railway network of nearly 7,500 kilometers that carries more than 80 million passengers each year. Parts of the system date to the colonial era, including tracks, junctions and bridges more than 150 years old. Modernization projects are under way, including work associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but serious crashes and derailments continue to affect the network.
In August 2023, at least 34 people were killed when a train derailed near Nawabshah in southern Pakistan. That earlier disaster provides context for concerns about rail safety, but authorities had not linked it to the Multan incident or identified a common cause. Any assessment of responsibility in the latest crash will depend on the investigation requested by the president.
The immediate operation centered on recovering victims, treating survivors and accounting for passengers. The available report did not identify the train, its route, the number of people aboard or the hospitals receiving those hurt. It also did not provide details about the condition of the injured.
Until investigators release findings, the central facts remain limited: a passenger train derailed outside Multan before dawn, four deaths were reported, and emergency officials confirmed at least 17 injuries. Authorities have promised an inquiry while rescue and medical teams handle the aftermath.
