Hours after a train derailed near Sarhari Railway Station in Nawabshah, killing 30 people, survivors have described how they came face to face with death. The stories also reveal how the rescue effort was mainly down to the locals.

Tando Adam’s Rashid Ali told BBC that he was travelling with his wife and children on one of the carriages that derailed on the ill-fated Hazara Express.

For the first few seconds after the accident, Rashid said he could not make sense of anything except his wounds. However, when he remembered his family he started moving, his own pain forgotten.

He soon found them buried under one of the train’s seats. He consoled them while wondering how on earth would he find help.

Then a man on a motorcycle turned up and he helped them get to a hospital.

Asla, who is from Jacobabad, also described how he felt doomed as the train went off the track. While he was injured, his son fortunately remained safe as he fell on top of his father.

Another passenger, Nasser Ahmed, went flying out of the carriage’s window when the tran went off the track. However, after seeing how the train’s contents overturned, Ahmed told BBC he beleive that getting thrown out actually saved his life.

Overwhelmed by the sound of screaming men, women and children, Ahmed was at a loss of what to do. He walked over to the stream right next to the track, but found its water to be dirty. Still, he cupped some water in his hands and tried to use it to rouse some people to conciousness.

Ahmed also described seeing the heart-wrenching scene of a woman screaming in pain next to her son who would not move and was probably dead.

Jacobabad’s Umair Ahmed said he felt helpless after the accident. His leg was injured and he had also sustained wounds on his head. However, he was more concerned about his wife who was bleeding. Then help came.

A group of three men asked him to get aside as they pulled his wife out. Then they found a car to get them to the hospital.