How can somebody steal a whole damn train? Well, they can, and did!
Supposedly the ‘thief’ was a crazy person from a town near Karachi, who stole the train, drove it down the track for 20 miles and almost caused a serious accident as he was only yards away from colliding with a crowded passenger train. For a while this was being considered a terrorist attack, but it turned out not to be so.
The culprit, according to BBC, was identified as Madan, a resident of Hyderabad.
Staff of Pakistan railway work at engine which was diverted onto service lane in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug 23, 2006. A Pakistani man stole the unattended train engine from a southern station, driving it more than 30 kilometers (20 miles) and dangerously close to a passenger train on the same line before being arrested, police said. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)
And how did the train get left unattended? Well, its the damn tea again. When its time for tea, we Pakistanis drop everything and just go savor our thirst :).
The railway engine was stolen from a marshalling yard near Karachi after its driver and fireman left it to have tea, officials say. They say that the accused man, Madan, drove the engine 30km (20 miles) towards Karachi and did not stop at two stations in between – prompting fears of a major terrorist incident. A passenger train, plying the same railway track, was stopped at the main Karachi cantonment railway station to avoid a major accident. The Divisional Superintendent of Karachi, Mir Mohammed Khaskheli, said that the stolen engine was then diverted to a loop line where engineers were able to bring it to a halt.
Madan’s wife, Jabli, and his son, Ramesh, told newsmen in Hyderabad that he was admitted to a mental asylum three months ago but had managed to abscond. They said that they came to know of his whereabouts when they saw Madan’s pictures on a local TV channel on Wednesday.(BBC)
Yes, Indian Railways has been more automated than their Pakistani cousins for a while now.
Someone, semi-seriously, this kind of thing some times is reassuring; that crazy things like this–rather than the depressing variety–can happen in Pakistan.
I dunno; I guess I am in an odd mood today…
I still don’t get how the train safety can be so lax. This is a train, for heaven’s sake, not a donkey cart that you just leave by the side of the road and go get some tea. Imagine old men and women trying to climb aboard and the train starts moving. or somebody crossing the tracks right in front because its common place for people to do that in pakistan. I could easily imagine people getting seriously injured, even if somebody moved the train by a few feet just as a joke.
On the lighter side: i can only imagine the look on the driver and stationguard’s face as they saw the train start to move out of the station. I imagine them spitting and plashing the chai all over the place, and running after the engine shouting “abey abey…roko roko”.
Next thing we know the railway station will walk away.
Although I have my doubts about this man stealing the train. He seems to be in pretty bad shape.
Here is the ‘thief’ that did it…
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7678/71701953px 3.jpg
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/886/71701962pb3 .jpg
Well, Bilal, at least it was a “person” who drove the train away. a couple of years ago, In India a tran had run away by itself!!:)