Fatal train collision in Pakistan

At least 10 people were killed when a passenger express collided with a goods train in southern Pakistan after the driver apparently missed a stop signal.

The goods train was parked at a station near the city of Karachi when it was hit by the Allama Iqbal Express.

The first two carriages of the passenger train were badly damaged. More than two dozen people were injured, officials said.

Hundreds of people have died in recent years in railway accidents in Pakistan.

"There was a big bang at exactly 1100 [0600 GMT]. One train was coming from that side and the signal was not closed properly, hence both trains collided with a loud bang," news agency Associated Press quoted a local resident Salaih Muhammed as saying.

Rescuers used cutting equipment to reach survivors who were ferried in ambulances to hospital.

Pakistan has a history of deadly accidents on its ageing railway system.

Signalling faults and poorly maintained tracks are often to blame.

More than 130 people were killed when three trains collided in Sindh province in July 2005 in the one of the worst train disasters in Pakistan.

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