Pakistan Railways chief counts short-circuit among causes of Tezgam tragedy
LAHORE: The Pakistan Railways (PR) chairman says the main reason behind the loss of over 70 lives in the Oct 31 Tezgam Express fire near Rahim Yar Khan “seems to be short-circuit caused by the use of electric kettle which led to some gas cylinders blast”.
“I have read the detailed inquiry report. The inquiry officer (then
federal government inspector of railways and present CEO of the PR)
reached a conclusion in the light of eyewitness accounts that the fire
probably erupted following a shot-circuit due to the use of an electric
kettle by some passengers. This fire led to explosion of LPG cylinders
being used by some other passengers in the same coach,” PR chairman
Habibur Rehman Gilani told Dawn on Wednesday.
“We cannot rule out anything, including short-circuit, behind this tragic incident that left many dead and injured,” he added.
The PR says electric sockets inside coaches are meant for mobile phone charging only.
In its Nov 1 initial investigation, a PR team had termed gas leak and
subsequent explosion of two cylinders as core reason behind the tragedy
and ruled out short-circuit. “It has been established that the
fire erupted just after some passengers started preparing breakfast in
the economy class coach,” PR’s then chief executive officer Aijaz Ahmad
Buriro had told Dawn.
The same day a senior civil defence official having fire
investigation expertise had rejected the PR version. “Had it been a gas
fire, the cylinders would have been reduced to pieces. But they remained
intact largely after the explosion,” he had told Dawn. “The
pattern of fire eruption and its sudden spread to other coaches, as
described by some survivors, suggested that it was a short-circuit, as
electric system short-circuit travelled very quickly. In case of
cylinders blast, the fire would have been limited to one coach,” he
believed.
According to the PR chairman, since most of the witnesses were burnt
alive, it was very difficult to reach a 100 per cent exact conclusion.
“The possibility of fire due to cigarette could not be ruled out as
well, as it was a spark whether due to train’s wiring system or
someone’s smoking that did all this at a time when there was highly
inflammable material (gas cylinders, stoves) already present.”
In reply a question, he said the railways’ system was in dire need of
massive improvement. “Security and safety of passengers come first. For
it we need to rehabilitate the decaying rail track. After the Tezgam
tragedy, I have constituted a high-level committee to ensure safety and
security of passengers by all means,” Mr Gillani claimed.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad and CEO Dost Ali Leghari were
not available for comments despite calls made by this reporter.
