MULTAN, Pakistan — Officials say at least 30 people have died and dozens of others were injured after a train derailed in southern Pakistan on Sunday.
Ten train cars heading to Rawalpindi derailed near Nawabshah, senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho said, according to The Associated Press. Some of the train cars were overturned and passengers became trapped inside.
Senior police officer, Abid Baloch, said that at least 30 bodies have been recovered, the AP reported. Baloch said about 60 people have been injured and some of those injuries are critical. He confirmed that women and children were some of the people that were either killed or injured.
Baloch said the death toll could rise as rescue crews continue to search for people on the train, the AP reported.
An emergency was also declared in the main hospitals in Nawabshah and Sindh, the BBC reported.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon told the BBC that the government is focusing on “the rescue work” as the top priority.
The BBC reported that accidents on the railway system in Pakistan are not uncommon. In 2021, two trains that were heading to Sindh crashed. At least 40 people were killed and dozens were injured.
The cause of the derailment is unknown.