Amritsar/ Islamabad: Twenty members of a Sikh family from
Pakistan were killed and seven injured when a high-speed train hit their van at
an unmanned railway crossing in Farooqabad, in Pakistan Punjab’s Sheikhupura
district, on Friday.
Six women and many children were among those
killed in the accident which occurred about 78 km from Lahore.
The Lahore-bound train, travelling from Karachi, crashed
into the vehicle between Farooqabad and Bahalekay, Pakistan Railways said in a
statement.
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Satwant Singh told TOI over the phone from Lahore that the group of Sikhs had gone from Peshawar to Nankana Sahib to attend the “antim ardas” of a relative, Raghubir Singh, who had recently died due to the novel coronavirus. The “antim ardas” could not be held earlier due to the lockdown.
“They were going back to Peshawar in a van via Farooqabad where they were to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, but unfortunately their van collided with the speeding Shah Hussain Express, which was on its way to Lahore from Karachi, at a railway crossing near Sheikhupura,” he added.
He said 20 members of the family were killed on the spot and seven others were hospitalised.
Amreek Singh, a senior member of the Sikh community, told TOI that the group of Sikhs living in Mohallah Jogan Shah, a Sikh locality inside Peshawar’s walled city. All the injured were shifted to district headquarters hospital in Sheikhupura and the dead were taken to Mayo Hospital in Lahore. Singh described the condition of one of the injured girls as critical.
Pakistan railway minister Sheikh Rashid directed authorities to take immediate action against those responsible for the accident and the divisional engineer was suspended by the railways management.
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Satwant Singh told TOI over the phone from Lahore that the group of Sikhs had gone from Peshawar to Nankana Sahib to attend the “antim ardas” of a relative, Raghubir Singh, who had recently died due to the novel coronavirus. The “antim ardas” could not be held earlier due to the lockdown.
“They were going back to Peshawar in a van via Farooqabad where they were to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, but unfortunately their van collided with the speeding Shah Hussain Express, which was on its way to Lahore from Karachi, at a railway crossing near Sheikhupura,” he added.
He said 20 members of the family were killed on the spot and seven others were hospitalised.
Amreek Singh, a senior member of the Sikh community, told TOI that the group of Sikhs living in Mohallah Jogan Shah, a Sikh locality inside Peshawar’s walled city. All the injured were shifted to district headquarters hospital in Sheikhupura and the dead were taken to Mayo Hospital in Lahore. Singh described the condition of one of the injured girls as critical.
Pakistan railway minister Sheikh Rashid directed authorities to take immediate action against those responsible for the accident and the divisional engineer was suspended by the railways management.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted: “My condolences and prayers go to the families of the deceased. Have directed relevant authorities to ensure facilitation and care for all the families. Our entire railway’s operational safety SOPs will be reviewed immediately.”
Pakistan Punjab province’s parliamentary
secretary Mohinderpal Singh said the government was making arrangements to send
the bodies to Peshawar. He said preliminary investigations had revealed that
the driver of the van had tried to cross the railway crossing by traversing an
unpaved stretch to save time, resulting in the accident.
Expressing grief over the deaths, Shiromani
Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal demanded
exemplary punishment for the persons responsible for letting the railway
crossing remain unattended.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was pained by the tragic demise of Sikh pilgrims in a road accident in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was pained by the tragic demise of Sikh pilgrims in a road accident in Pakistan.
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