At 07:12 on Monday, 21 September 2026, a freight train carrying diesel and industrial chemicals derailed and slammed into a commuter train near the Kotri Bridge, about 45 km (28 miles) northeast of Karachi, provincial emergency services said. The collision and subsequent fire killed 60 people at the scene and injured at least 213 more, officials at the temporary triage centre in Jamshoro told reporters. Authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of more than 3,400 residents across three villages after tank cars began leaking a fuel‑oil plume that produced dense black smoke.
Rescue teams worked through the morning to douse blazes and reach people trapped in bent carriages as heavy equipment arrived from Hyderabad and Karachi. Provincial health minister Aamir Shahzad said 28 people were in critical condition and that three helicopter sorties had airlifted patients to Karachi Central Hospital and the newly expanded Sindh Trauma Centre. “We are in rescue mode,” Shahzad told reporters at 14:00. “A thorough forensic and safety probe will begin once rescue operations finish.” The Federal Transport Authority has suspended all rail traffic on the southern corridor indefinitely.
Local witnesses described scenes of confusion and panic as commuters — many travelling to Karachi for work — scrambled away from the smoke. “We heard a thunderous crash and then people were shouting,” said Marvin Carbone, a volunteer paramedic who arrived within minutes of the accident. “The commuter carriages were crumpled; we pulled five people from a carriage that had been sheared in two.” Officials said the commuter service was heavily used on Mondays and was running at near capacity.
The smell was like a furnace; people were running and coughing and some were calling for their children.
Teboho Kok, local volunteer
Initial statements from the Pakistan Southern Rail Company — the state operator, which has been rebranded twice in recent years and is now run by a special directorate — said a derailed tank wagon hit the flank of the morning commuter train. Early findings from track sensors show an unexpected lateral movement of a freight tank at 07:10, a senior rail director, Zahid Mir, said. Mir added that several of the tank cars were owned by TransPak Logistics, a private firm whose tankers have been the subject of safety warnings in previous inspections. The company denied any immediate responsibility and said it was cooperating with investigators.
Environmental teams warned the spill could contaminate irrigation channels that feed rice fields downstream. “Diesel and caustic residues in those channels would devastate crops and livestock unless contained quickly,” said Dr. Samir Qureshi, an environmental chemist advising the provincial government. Schools within a 5 km (3 mile) radius were closed and three villages have been declared exclusion zones as hazardous‑materials crews work to neutralise the leak.
The prime minister ordered an emergency audit of rail safety and immediate suspension of the regional transport minister, named by the government as Fareed Abbasi, pending inquiry results. Provincial opposition leaders accused the transport directorate of chronic underinvestment and of outsourcing safety work to underqualified contractors. “We warned that cheap repair contracts would cost lives,” opposition leader Naila Anjum said at a press briefing. The attorney general’s office confirmed a criminal negligence inquiry into maintenance contracts and tank certification would open this week.
Relief organisations scrambled to set up shelters: a schoolyard in Mirpurkhas became a gathering point for hundreds of evacuees, and emergency cash compensation of PKR 5 million (about €14,000/$15,000) was promised to the next of kin of each deceased passenger. Road links into Karachi were temporarily diverted and some fuel deliveries were delayed, prompting short queues at petrol stations across the city by late afternoon. “My brother was on that train,” said Sam Leong Fairuz, who had been searching desperately for relatives at the hospital. “They told us to wait for DNA checks. No one should have to go through this.”
