At least 16 people were killed and 50 injured when an express train slammed into a standing train at a railway station in southern Pakistan on Thursday morning, doctors and rescue workers said.

The crash took place at Landhi railway station on the outskirts of the port city of Karachi when the Zakaria Express ran into the stationary Fareed Express apparently because of faulty signaling. Three coaches of the Fareed Express were completely destroyed.

Those killed included women and children. The number of casualties could increase as some people were still trapped in the coaches and shifting the injured to hospitals was being hindered by the morning traffic rush.

Seemi Jamali, a doctor at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, said those injured included 15 in critical condition.

The Zakaria Express had originated at Multan and the Fareed Express at Lahore. Both were just one station away from Karachi Station, where they were to terminate. Railway officials said heavy machinery has arrived at the site to clear the track.