The Tezgam inferno in which 70 passengers were burnt to death was sparked by a short circuit, Pakistan Railways Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dost Muhammad Leghari revealed on Tuesday while talking to a local news channel.
Leghari said that an inquiry had confirmed that the twelfth coach of the Tezgam Express had caught fire after an electric kettle short-circuited and caught fire, adding that the coach was being supplied electricity ‘illegally’ from another coach.
He also shared that 15 officials, including a deputy divisional superintendent and a commercial officer, have been suspended in view of the inquiry’s findings.
Earlier at the time of the incident that took place on October 30, it was reported that the train had caught fire due to gas exploded gas canisters used by Tableeghi Jamaat passengers to cook breakfast near Talwari Station in Liaquatpur area of Rahim Yar Khan. The train was bound from Karachi to Rawalpindi. The deadly inferno destroyed three coaches of the train.
Television footage showed unforgiving flames rising out of the carriages as people could be heard crying right outside. Some commuters died and several were also injured when they jumped from the moving train in a bid to escape the flames.
Survivors said it took nearly 20 minutes for the train to stop, amid contradictory reports about whether the train’s brakes and the safety cords were working or not. However, no confirmation has been given about this by the Railways CEO.
Soon after the incident, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed had said that measures would be taken to ensure that anyone carrying items that could cause such damage would not be allowed on board. “We admit our mistake and I assure you, this will not happen next time,” he had assured during a press conference.
Earlier on Tuesday, Leghari, in response to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed’s remarks of shutting down Pakistan Railways if it was incapable of sorting its affairs, pleaded that the department not be closed as it connects all the four provinces.
Leghari promised that Railways officers and workers will work together to improve the train journey for passengers across the country. “Pakistan Railways is planning to add more freight trains to decrease the losses of the department. For the first time, the organisation was able to register a profit of five billion by increasing the number of passenger trains,” he claimed.
“It is the most corrupt department,” Justice Gulzar had remarked during the hearing of a case related to Railways losses.
The CJP had also emphasised that Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed should have taken the ethical route by resigning after the Tezgam incident that happened under his watch.
