At least 70 people were killed in a fire on a train in Pakistan early Thursday, reports CNN. Another 30 people were injured. The flames spread quickly after a gas canister exploded as the train passed through the city of Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab, local police officer Amir Taimoor said.
It was the worst disaster in 15 years for the country's accident-plagued rail network. Gas canisters are banned on Pakistan trains, but passengers were using gas-powered stoves in a carriage. "Two stoves blew up when people were cooking breakfast," Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Geo television, per Reuters. "The presence of kerosene with the passengers in the moving train further spread the fire." Many passengers reportedly were heading to a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. Read more at CNN and Reuters.
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