An exploding gas cooker has caused a massive fire that ripped through three carriages of a speeding train in Pakistan. Passengers were reportedly preparing breakfast whilst the train was moving.
At least 71 people died after a gas stove exploded on a train in southeast Pakistan, officials confirmed Thursday.
"Two cookers blew up. They had oil which added fuel to fire," Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told local broadcaster Geo.
Most of the deaths were caused when people jumped from the train to escape the flames, he added.
A further 30 people were injured in the fire that destroyed three train carriages. Of these, 12 are in a critical condition, said Amir Taimur Khan, police chief of Rahim Yar Khan, the city close to where the accident took place.
Local television footage showed carriages on fire with smoke and flames billowing through the windows.
Emergency services predict the death toll will rise.
Passengers jumped from the carriages to escape
Pakistani journalist Zahid Hussein told DW that although cooking stoves are on the list of prohibited items, "security checks on trains are very lax." The long transit times involved often lead poorer passengers to cook their meals on the trains, he said
Train accidents are common in Pakistan where its aging railways have seen a lack of investment as well as mismanagement and corruption.
In July, at least 23 people were killed in the same district when a passenger train coming from the eastern city of Lahore collided with a goods train that had stopped at a crossing.
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