12 Die in Pakistan as Train Carrying Soldiers Falls Into Canal

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/world/asia/pakistan-military-train-bridge-collapse-punjab.html

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ISLAMABAD — At least 12 people were killed Thursday when four cars of a train carrying soldiers fell into a canal in eastern Pakistan, military and government officials said. Rescue work was underway by the army and others, according to a military spokesman.

The train was ferrying troops of an army unit from Pannu Aqil, in southern Sindh Province, to the Kharian military cantonment in Punjab Province. According to initial reports, a section of the bridge collapsed around noon Thursday when the train was passing by in Gujranwala District in Punjab Province.

By early evening, 80 passengers had been rescued, officials said.

Khawaja Saad Rafique, the Pakistani minister for railways, said a report on the incident would be issued by the evening. He said that it was too early to determine the cause of the accident, and that the authorities were looking into the possibility of sabotage.

Mr. Rafique denied local news reports that the bridge was dilapidated. He insisted that bridges were checked four times a year and that the collapsed bridge had been checked and cleared for operation by railways officials this year.

However, a military official offered a different view.

“According to initial investigation, the bridge collapsed,” a military official said while adding that it did not seem to be an act of terrorism.

Local television news networks broadcast images of green- and yellow carriages piled up over the railway track.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed condolences over the deaths and directed authorities to mobilize all resources in the rescue efforts.