Passenger train derails in Pakistan's Punjab, killing four and injuring 30

The derailment

A passenger train travelling from the southern port city of Karachi to the northwestern city of Peshawar derailed early on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, in Sher Shah city near Multan in Punjab province, according to Pakistan Railways spokesman Kaleem Akhtar. Rescuers recovered all four bodies from the train's 14 cars and evacuated the injured, who were taken to hospital. Punjab Emergency Services spokesman Farooq Ahmed said the accident was reported to authorities at 5:21 am and that 11 ambulances and 30 rescue workers were sent to the site. A rescue worker at the scene told AFP that at least four people had died there. Ahmed said the cause of the accident was not yet known and that investigations were under way.

Conflicting toll and injury figures

Four deaths is the figure that officials have most consistently confirmed. Railway Minister Hanif Abbasi said he could confirm four passenger deaths, citing the regional railway director in Multan, who had reported four. Abbasi told Dawn that he could not confirm the five deaths that Pakistan Railways spokesman Babar Ali had earlier given to the same paper. Injury counts also vary. Ahmed told AFP that 17 people were injured, a rescue worker at the site said the number had reached 25, and AP reported 30 injured. DW gave a range of 17 to 25 injured.

Official response and investigation

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief in separate statements and urged authorities to provide the best possible medical care to the injured. Zardari also ordered a transparent investigation to establish the cause of the accident, according to AFP and DW. Abbasi said he had appointed the Federal Inspector of Railways (FGIR) to investigate the derailment. The inquiry has not yet produced a stated cause in the reporting so far.

The driver's account

Locomotive driver Rizwan Abbas told Dawn that the train was moving at 100 km/h and that the signal was green as it passed the Sher Shah station area. He said he suddenly felt a strong jolt, applied the brakes and brought the train to a stop. After leaving the cab and looking back, he saw that the passenger cars had left the tracks. He told Dawn that the train was in good operating condition.

Rail network and past accidents

AP reported that train accidents are relatively common in Pakistan, where the railway system has suffered from decades of underinvestment, outdated tracks and aging signal systems. AP also said that in 2023 ten cars of a passenger train derailed in southern Pakistan, killing 30 people and injuring more than 90. AFP and DW put the August 2023 derailment near Nawabshah at at least 34 dead, so the reported tolls for 2023 differ by source. The network is about 7,500 km long and carries more than 80 million passengers a year, according to AFP. DW reported that some colonial-era tracks, bridges and junctions are still in use, with some more than 150 years old. Modernization work under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is continuing, but derailments remain a concern.