7 persons, including 6 children, killed in train mishap in Pak

In a tragic accident, at least seven persons, including six schoolchildren of the same family, were killed and four others injured today when a train crashed into a motorised rickshaw in Pakistan's Punjab province.
The mishap occurred on Jalapur Road in Lodhran town when the three-wheeler rickshaw carrying 11 schoolchildren tried to cross an ungated railway line ahead of an incoming Karachi-bound train.
The driver of the rickshaw also died in the accident, local police official Sardar Ali told PTI.
"The ages of six killed school children were between 6 to 10 years," he said.
The Hazara Express was going from Lahore to Karachi when it hit the rickshaw carrying around 11 children in addition to the driver and another passenger, police said.

The initial probe showed that the gate was installed but it was open as the gateman appointed to shut it ahead of the train was not on duty, police said, adding that he was arrested after the accident for negligence.

Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique told reporters that the exact cause of the mishap will be ascertained after proper probe which has been ordered.
"We have to investigate whether it's negligence or if it happened due to heavy fog in the area at the time of the accident," Rafique said.
Heart-wrenching scenes were observed when the dead bodies of the children belonging to one extended family were carried to the residence, police said.

It was the third major railway accident in last four months.
About 20 people were killed when a train crashed into stationary coaches in Karachi in November.