Islamabad [Pakistan], August 8 : Following the Hazara Express accident which claimed the lives of at least 34 people, Pakistan Railways suspended six officials on Tuesday in connection with the derailment of the train near Nawabshah, reported ARY News.
Those six officials included two 18-grade officials and were suspended after a departmental inquiry was held into the crash which revealed that missing fishplates and a damaged track caused the derailment of the Hazara Express.
According to ARY News, the officials included the Divisional Executive Engineer of Sukkur, the Assistant Executive Engineer of Nawabshah and the Power Controller of Kotri.
Moreover, the suspension list included Atif Ashfaq of Karachi Diesel Workshop and Arif, a permanent inspector from Shahdadpur. Additionally, Kangle Ghulam Muhammad, a grade three officer, was also suspended.
Reportedly, the railway authorities identified six employees whose alleged negligence have probably caused the horrific accident.
A report released by the six-member Pakistan Railways inquiry team on Monday stated that the accident happened due to missing fishplates and a broken track.
"After checking from all the aspects, we came to [the] conclusion that [the] accident took place due to fresh rail broke and fishplates missing,” the report said, as per Dawn.
The team also identified the locomotive's skidding among other reasons that caused the derailment.
The report, which was seen by Dawn, said that the train engine had departed the site without being examined by senior employees. Beyond the accident point, "little hitting spots" were discovered on the wooden terminal and iron fishplates.“Hence the engineering branch and mechanical branch are held responsible for this accident,” it reads.
According to the document, sabotage cannot be denied because the derailed carriages were pulled 750 feet. Two team members provided dissenting notes.
Stating that he did not agree with the report, one member said, “The derailment took place due to two fishplates missing, broken rail, [and] engine derailment inside the track due to spread of the gauge. Resultantly, the grazing marks were also found visible on the outside of the wheel disc. Also, no heating marks were observed on the track, fishplates and bolts.
”According to the other dissenting official, the actual cause of the derailment was “due to engine axle jammed resulting deep fling which left hitting marks” at fishplates. “This deepness increased with continuous jamming, resulting in breakage of fish bolts for the missing fishplates,” the official’s note reads.
A Pakistan Railway official told Dawn that it was a “very initial probe report” as the final one will take some time to prepare.
Pakistan and India got independence from Britain, but there is an unusual difference in infrastructure and development in both countries, not only in locomotion but also in other state institutes, as per The Nation.
Old rails and historic bridges make Pakistan Railways dangerous and unsafe. Over the system, there are 13,841 bridges, including 532 major and 13,309 minor ones. Surprisingly, practically all of the bridges were built when the subcontinent's railway system was inaugurated in 1870.
In Pakistan, theft of rail tracks, engines and particular parts has been commonplace for decades, The Nation reported.
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