A fire mopped through a Pakistani train on Thursday, killing at least 65 people and wounding approximately 40 after a gas canister that passengers were using to cook breakfast erupted, government officials announced.
The fire damaged three of the train’s carriages near the town of Rahim Yar Khan in the south of Punjab province. It was on its way from the southern city of Karachi to Rawalpindi, near the capital, with many people going to a religious conference.
“Two stoves blew up when people were cooking breakfast, the presence of kerosene with the passengers in the moving train further spread the fire,” Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Geo television.
Many of the dead were killed when they leapt from the moving train to escape the flames, he said.
The death toll had risen to 65, with some victims burned beyond recognition, said the deputy commissioner of the district, Jameel Ahmad.
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