Several killed in train crash in Pakistan

Two passenger trains carrying almost 1,000 people crashed into one another early Thursday in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, killing at least 19 people, local officials and rescuers reported.

"At the moment, we don't know the exact number of casualties, but there could be up to 1,000 passengers in both trains," Nasir Nazeer, District Coordination Officer (DCO) in Karachi told the AFP news agency.

Hospital workers around the city reported between 40 and 50 people were injured.

Television footage at the crash site showed mangled, overturned carriages as well as rescuers using metal-cutting equipment and heavy cranes to reach trapped passengers.

The collision occurred with the incoming "Zakria Express" from the central city of Multan rammed into the "Farid Express" from Lahore as it waited in Karachi's Jumma Goth train station.

One train slammed into the other from behind, causing them both to derail, Railways Minister Saad Rafiq said. He added that how and why the accident occurred was not immediately clear.

Train traffic between Karachi and the rest of Pakistan has been suspended after the collision near the city's Landi Railway Station, the English-language "Dawn" newspaper reported.

Pakistan's colonial-era rail network has fallen into disrepair due to underinvestment and poor maintenance.

In September, at least four people were killed and over 100 injured when an express train collided with a freight train near the city of Multan in Punjab province.

rs, jbh/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)