Rehman Baba Express derails in Pakistan's Punjab, leaving five dead and 30 injured

At least five people were killed and roughly 30 others injured when the Rehman Baba Express passenger train derailed near Multan in Pakistan's Punjab province early on Tuesday morning.

The train was travelling north from the southern port city of Karachi to Peshawar when carriages left the tracks at around 5:15 am near Sher Shah Bridge. Emergency responders transferred the wounded to Nishtar Hospital in Multan, where doctors treated dozens of passengers for fractures, lacerations, and crush injuries.

What happened at the crash site

Rescue workers arrived shortly after dawn and cleared 13 passenger carriages from the main line. Operations continued through the morning on a final derailed coach, where workers used heavy cutters to free trapped commuters.

Pakistan Railways spokesperson Kaleem Akhtar confirmed the derailment occurred in the Sher Shah area. Local police and emergency authorities cordoned off the line to allow breakdown cranes and medical teams direct access to the wreckage.

While railway inspectors have not formally established the cause of the disaster, one passenger told local reporters that maintenance crews had worked on loose nuts and bolts on coach number nine near Rohri earlier during the journey. Authorities have not verified whether that repair contributed to the carriage leaving the line.

Official response and track safety

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari both issued statements expressing grief over the fatalities. Sharif directed railway and provincial officials to speed up track clearance and provide immediate, high-grade medical treatment to the injured.

The crash adds to a long history of accidents across Pakistan's rail network, which spans thousands of kilometres but suffers from decades of chronic underfunding, decaying tracks, and obsolete signalling systems.

In August 2023, the derailment of 10 carriages of the Hazara Express near Nawabshah in Sindh province killed at least 30 people and injured more than 100. That accident provoked sharp scrutiny over maintenance protocols and route inspections, though structural repairs across key corridors have remained sluggish.

Pakistan Railways stated that a technical investigation will examine track condition, train speed, and mechanical components to identify how the coaches jumped the rails.