Friends of the Rail Forum

At least 64 passengers died when a train travelling from the Pakistani city of Karachi to Rawalpindi caught fire. Minister for railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said the fire was caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder being used by passengers cooking breakfast...

The railways minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said most of the deaths were passengers throwing themselves from the moving train to escape the fire.

The minister said the incident was caused by the explosion of a gas canister while passengers were cooking breakfast on a stove on the train on Thursday morning. It is illegal to bring gas canisters on to trains but the rules are frequently flouted.

“Two stoves blew up when people were cooking breakfast, the presence of kerosene with the passengers in the moving train further spread the fire,” Ahmed said...