The death toll in Monday’s fatal trains collision incident rose to 66 as eight more bodies were retrieved from the wreckage during the rescue operation, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
According to Dr Zahid, chief medical officer Railways, 58 bodies of the deceased were handed over to their families after their identification. He said the identification of remaining bodies could not be ascertained, which are lying at Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan and in Mirpur Mathelo Hospital.
The Railways authorities informed that 23 badly injured persons were under treatment at Shaikh Zayed Hospital, RYK, adding that they were seeking the help of the Punjab forensic agency in the identification of five unknown bodies.
According to a statement issued by the ISPR, the relief and rescue operation at the site has now been completed. The restoration of the railway track was also completed as the train engine and bogies removed from the track.
The tragic incident occurred at Daharki in Ghotki district of Sindh when a packed train ploughed into another express that had derailed just minutes earlier.
Several people were trapped for hours in the mangled wreckage left by the collision near Daharki before rescue workers with specialist equipment could reach them.
Huge crowds from nearby villages gathered around the carnage of the overturned Pakistan Railways carriages, with twisted and shredded metal scattered across the ground, along with piles of luggage.
Army and civil engineers led a mass effort to clear and repair the tracks.
The double accident happened around 3.30am when most of the 1,200 passengers aboard the two trains would have been dozing.
Most of the dead were pulled from the derailed train, officials said.
According to Railways spokesperson, the rescue operation has been completed on Tuesday. Now the railways administration has started fixing the rail tracks. As soon as the fixing of tracks completes, the Lahore and Karachi bound trains would depart on to their respective destinations.
So far the Shalimar and Farid Express trains that run between Lahore and Karachi have been cancelled. Whereas the Awam Express that runs from Karachi to Peshawar via Lahore has also been cancelled.
The Shalimar and Farid Express were scheduled to depart from Lahore Railway Station on Tuesday morning. The Railways department has said that the passengers who have got confirmed tickets would get 100% refund. The department further elaborated that the passengers who have purchased tickets from the reservation office could claim a refund from the reservation office and the online purchasers could get their refund online after cancelling their tickets online.
According to Railways authorities, the trains bound to Multan and Rawalpindi departed on time. The trains which are experiencing delays included: Hazara Express, 21 hours delay; Shalimar Express 17 ½ hours delay; Khyber Mail and Allama Iqbal 13 hours delay; Tezgam and Pakistan Express, hours delay; and Pak Business and Jinnah Express, 11 hours delay. Other trains are also 8-10 hours behind their schedule.
Reporters Amir Bhatti, Rozina Ali, Saeed Ahmed