At least 12 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in separate road accidents in Ghotki, Dera Ismail Khan, Layyah and Chichawatni on Sunday.
According to a first information report (FIR), available with Dawn.com, five people, including the bus driver, died while 25 others were injured in the accident.
The bus had overturned in the Nawan Kot area, and a case was registered at the Chaubara police station.
“The contractor was charged with blocking the road by piling gravel and not installing signboards,” the FIR said. Consequently, a case was registered against the contractor of the under-construction road upon the complaint of Abid Hussain, who was the grandson of a deceased passenger.
A rescue official said that 25 members of the same family were injured when the passenger bus overturned, adding that the passenger bus was coming from the shrine Bibi Pak Daman Lahore to Karor Lal Eesan Tehsil Layyah, the statement added.
The deceased and the injured were moved to the Tehsil Hospital Fatehpur, while six critically injured passengers were moved to Nishtar Hospital Multan for treatment.
The Chobara police registered the case against the contractor under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 322 (causing death by rash or negligent driving), 337-G (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent driving), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 422 (dishonestly or fraudulently preventing debt being available for creditors) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Rescue officials said that there were 62 passengers inside the passenger bus, while 20 were on the roof.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif shared her sorrow over the incident, directing Layyah Deputy Commissioner Amira Baidar to provide the best facilities to patients and excellent treatment. DC visited the hospital and met the injured passengers.
At least 12 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in separate road accidents in Ghotki, Dera Ismail Khan, Layyah and Chichawatni on Sunday.
Four people were killed and two others injured when a car veered off the road and plunged into a ditch while coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's DI Khan's Al Markalan village.
Rescue officials confirmed that among the deceased were two brothers and a child and added that the bodies of the deceased and the injured had been shifted to a local hospital for medico-legal formalities and treatment, respectively.
In a separate tragic incident, three individuals were killed and more than eight were injured when a speeding truck overturned on Motorway M-5 near Sindh's Ghotki.
Motorway Police said the deceased and injured were all from Muzaffargarh's Alipur Jatoi area. Animals being transported in the truck were also injured in the incident, the police added.
In another road mishap, a speeding bus was involved in an accident near Nawan Kot, resulting in the death of two individuals and injuries to 26 others, rescue officials said.
The passenger bus was travelling from Lahore to Karor Lal Esan, Layyah. Six of the injured are in critical condition and have been referred to Nishtar Hospital Multan for treatment.
Separately, a lawyer was killed and two others were injured when a car overturned in Iqbal Nagar area of Chichawatni. They were returning from 19/14 L village, said hospital officials.
