At least 20 people were killed while several others were injured after a passenger train collided with a bus near Rohri on Friday night, Aaj News reported. Casualties were expected to rise as rescue workers reached the site and shifted the injured and deceased to the nearest hospital.

Sindh CM House spokesperson Rasheed Channa quoted the commissioner as saying that between 40 to 45 injured had been shifted to hospitals in Rohri and Sukkur. He added, however, that they could not ascertain how many of the victims were from the train or the bus.

The Pakistan Express train was on its way to Lahore from Karachi, when it collided with a passenger bus at a railway crossing, splitting it into two. The bus was en route from Karachi to Sargodha. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and directed the Sukkur commissioner to dispatch rescue teams to the area. The CM also called for an emergency to be declared at all hospitals in Khairpur, and directed the authorities concerned to ensure ample medicines and blood for those injured in the incident.