A passenger train has rammed into a freight train at a railway station in southern Pakistan, killing at least 16 people and injuring 78 others, hospital officials say.
The freight train was stationary when the speeding passenger train hit it at Walhar Railway Station in Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday, in the eastern Punjab province.
Jamil Ahmed, an official in the provincial government, said hospitals declared an emergency.
Sixteen people were killed in the train crash and 78 were wounded, with some in critical condition, according to Javed Ahmed, a physician treating the wounded.
Rescue workers at the scene of a train accident near Sadiqabad, Pakistan Source: EPA
Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered authorities to provide the best possible medical care to the victims and said he was saddened by the news.
Khan ordered Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad to "take emergency steps to counter decades of neglect of railway infrastructure" and ensure safety standards.
Authorities said Pakistan's army was also taking part in the rescue efforts.
Train accidents in Pakistan are often the result of poor railway infrastructure and official negligence.
