The accident occurred at an unmanned level crossing, officially (representative)
Karachi:
At least 18 people were killed and dozens more injured when a passenger train hit a bus in Pakistan's southern Sindh province on Friday.
The incident occurred in the Sukkur district, where the incoming Pakistan Express – on its way from Karachi to Lahore – reached the bus that went to Sargodha in the central Punjab province.
"At least 18 people were killed and 55 injured," Rana Adeel, a deputy commissioner in Sukkur, told AFP and warned that the death toll could increase as some of the injured are in critical condition.
Senior rail official Tariq Kolachi, who was on site, confirmed the updated toll to AFP and said the bailout was not yet complete, but was complicated by the dark.
Kolachi said the accident happened at an unmanned level crossing and the bus was split in two because of the crash force.
"All those killed and injured were passengers on the bus," he said, adding that an assistant to the driver had sustained minor injuries.
Railway accidents are common in Pakistan, where thousands of kilometers of tracks and trains were inherited from the former colonial power of Great Britain.
Railways have been declining for decades due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)