KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — At least two people were killed and four children were missing after a car on a moving passenger train caught fire overnight in southern Pakistan, officials said Thursday.

Railways spokesperson Komal Rashid said the train caught fire in Khairpur, a district about 500 kilometers (300 miles) north of Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. The blaze also badly damaged several other cars in the train, she said, and the cause remained unclear.

TV footage showed several burned sections of the train, which was on its way from Karachi to the eastern city of Lahore, when a car caught fire. Local media reported that the flames roared through the train Wednesday night, engulfing several cars.

In Pakistan, poor passengers often bring their own small gas stoves on the trains to cook their meals, despite rules barring the practice. Safety regulations are often ignored in overcrowded trains. Train accidents in Pakistan are often the result of poor railway infrastructure and official negligence.

In 2019, at least 74 passengers were killed and dozens were injured in a train fire triggered when a cooking gas stove exploded in the eastern Punjab province.