Thirteen passengers were killed while five were injured when a sugar-laden truck came into contact with coaster in Rahim Yar Khan’s (RYK) Liaquatpur tehsil, according to a Rescue 1122 handout.
According to the handout, the accident occurred in Feroza town and rescue officials from Liaquatpur and Khanpur tehsils along with 10 emergency vehicles as well as district administration’s cranes were involved in the rescue and clearance operation.
The handout said that the dead and the injured were moved to Feroza Rural Health Centre for treatment.
RYK Deputy Commissioner (DC) Syed Musa Raza told Media that the rescue operation was completed after 7:30pm.He said that an inquiry would be initiated to ascertain the main reason for the incident after the completion of rescue activities.
According to a handout from the district information office, medical aid was being provided to the injured and the DC instructed that the bodies be sent back to their native areas after identification.
“After the accident, the rescue teams joined the locals to shift the injured to a hospital where 13 of them were pronounced dead while the condition of the remaining five injured is stated to be critical,” it said, adding the dead included women as well.
The officials further said the rainwater was accumulated on the road where the accident took place.
“The bus got buried under the sugarcane sacks after the accident and rescue teams took considerable time to move the injured to the hospital,” it said.
The driver of the truck reportedly managed to escape from the scene.
Road accidents have become all too frequent in Pakistan, pointing to the fact that shoddy infrastructure, dilapidated vehicles and lack of compliance with traffic rules add to the overall situation.
In 2020, WHO published data which showed that road accident deaths in Pakistan amounted to 1.93% of the total death.