Pakistan Railways suspends six officials from service in connection with Hazara Express tragedy
LAHORE, August 08 (SABAH): The Pakistan Railways has suspended six officials from service days after the Hazara Express accident claimed more than 30 lives and left over 70 others injured.
Officials say the move is meant to ensure accountability and ensure safety standards within the organisation.
After identifying the employees alleged to have shown negligence which has resulted in the disaster, the railway authorities suspended them. Preliminary findings indicated lapses in execution of duties, officials say.
Those suspended were: Divisional Executive Engineer Hafiz Badrul Arfeen from Sukkur, Assistant Executive Engineer (Nawabshah), Power Controller from Kotri, Bashir Ahmed, Atif Ashfaq from Karachi Diesel Workshop, Arif, a permanent inspector from Shahdadpur, and gangman Ghulam Muhammad. The suspended officials also include two 18-grade officers.
Ten bogies of Havelian-bound Hazara Express had derailed near Sarhari Railway Station in Sindh’s Sanghar district on Sunday, with Pakistan Railways (PR) officials stating the breakage of the railway line and hot axle, which jammed movement, as the reason.
However, Railways Minister Khawaja Muhammad Saad Rafique had stated that the possibility of sabotage as well as a mechanical fault could not be ruled out. He had also termed the railway track to be fit.
Later, a six-member team was constituted to probe the crash.
In a notification issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Railways said six officers had been suspended with “immediate effect” and until further orders in connection with the tragedy in light of Rule-5 of Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020.
The decision was issued with the approval of the Railways chairman, the notification added.
The suspension comes a day after a departmental probe into the crash revealed that missing fishplates and a damaged track caused the derailment of the Hazara Express.
“After checking from all the aspects, we came to [the] conclusion that [the] accident took place due to fresh rail broken and fishplates missing,” the report said.
The team also identified skidding of the train’s locomotive as another reason behind the derailment.
The report, seen by a private TV channel, said the train engine had left the site without examination by senior subordinates. Moreover, “little hitting spots” were found on the iron fishplates and wooden terminal beyond the accident point. “Hence the engineering branch and mechanical branch are held responsible for this accident,” it read.
The document added that sabotage cannot be rejected as the derailed coaches were dragged to a distance of 750 feet. The report also contained two dissenting notes
Meanwhile, a PR official told media that it was a “very initial probe report” as the final one will take some time to prepare. “A detailed probe in this regard is underway as the Federal Government Inspector of Railways (a grade 22 officer) is on-site to find out the reason behind this tragedy,” he maintained.
More than 30 passengers were killed and over 70 others suffered injuries after 10 bogies of Hazara Express derailed near Sarhari Railway Station located between Shahzadpur and Nawabshah on Sunday last.