A crowded Pakistani passenger train rammed into another at a station yesterday and a third train then ploughed into the wreckage killing at least 128 people and injuring hundreds.

Both Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday sent messages of condolence to their Pakistani counterparts Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz over the tragedy.

They offered their condolences to the victims' families, and expressed deep grief over the those killed in the accident.

About 1,000 people were aboard each of the trains and many of the passengers were asleep at the time of the pre-dawn disaster.

Railway officials said human error was to blame. Police and rescuers are still searching for bodies in the mangled remains of carriages.

"I was sleeping. I woke up at the noise of a huge bang and then there was big jerk and smoke all over the place," said a distraught injured passenger, Mohammad Amin.

"There was total darkness... I hit the floor and fainted," said Amin who was desperately searching for his son.

The Karachi Express, coming from the eastern city of Lahore, rammed into the rear of the Quetta Express stopped at a station near Ghotki town for repairs.

A third train, coming the other way from Karachi, then ploughed into three derailed carriages that had spilled across the track, said police.

Ghotki, in southern Sindh province, is 430 kilometres northeast of the port city of Karachi.

A photographer said he saw about 50 blood-soaked bodies lying near the scene of the crash, while many injured were being treated nearby.

Police said 114 bodies had been sent to a hospital but more were trapped in the wreckage.

"We've taken out 114 bodies so far ... there are still a few more that we're trying to take out," said district police official Syed Shabee Akhtar. Nineteen carriages were derailed in all.

Ruling out sabotage, President Pervez, speaking in Karachi, said: "It's clear that it was not sabotage rather, in my view, it might be carelessness."

Pakistan Railways officials pointed the finger of blame at the driver of the train that rammed the stationary one.

"The driver of the Karachi Express violated the signal and the accident apparently happened because of his mistake," Chairman of Pakistan Railways, Shakeel Durrani, told reporters.

Senior railway official Junaid Qureshi agreed. "He either ignored the red signal or he was snoozing," said Qureshi, referring to the driver, whom he said was among the dead.

Debris including luggage from smashed compartments was scattered across a wide area as rescuers picked their way through twisted piles of metal and wood.

Passengers, some of them injured, could also be seen searching for missing friends and relatives. Relatives of railway workers and passengers gathered at Karachi's main station.

(China Daily July 14, 2005)