At least seven people, including a woman and children, were killed when a fire erupted in the Karachi Express near Khairpur in the wee hours of Thursday.
The accident happened near the town of Tando Masti when the fire suddenly engulfed coach number 17, the Railway authorities said. The train was on its way to Lahore from Karachi.
Police said that the bodies of a man and a woman were recovered from the coach, while four children were missing after jumping off the train.
The bodies of all four children have also been recovered by police. They were moved to Gambat Hospital. Later, the bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital Khairpur, sources said.
Later, police said, another body of a male was recovered by the rescue officials from the coach.
At least 20 passengers were in the coach at the time of the accident. They saved themselves by jumping off the coach, sources said. The railway staff brought the fire, which was not intense, under control on their own.
Moreover, the authorities said that the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
On the other hand, Railway traffic was disturbed for a short duration as trains were stopped at different stations. Pakistan Express was stopped at Khairpur, Allama Iqbal at Tandomasti, and Tezgam at Mehrabpur.
Railway authorities said that after detaching the affected coach, the Karachi Express was cleared to continue its journey to Lahore. The trains stopped at different stations were also given the green signal to continue their journey.
