13 dead as van plunges into canal near Lahore

LAHORE:

Thirteen people, including four women and a child, were killed and at least eight others injured when a passenger van fell into a canal near Punjab’s provincial capital on Saturday.

Police said the accident happened around 2:30pm. “The van, carrying around two dozen passengers, was heading from Chhanga Manga, some 50 kilometres away from Lahore, to Pattoki in Kasur district when one of its tyres burst,” said a police official. “The driver lost control over the vehicle and it plunged into BS Link Canal.” According to APP however, the vehicle skidded off a bridge near Waan Aadan. Some reports suggested the accident took place when the vehicle’s tie-rod broke down.

Residents tried to rescue the drowning passengers on a self-help basis. They also called Rescue 1122, whose divers later fished out the dead and rescued some passengers.

The dead included eight men, four women and a child. “Around eight people were also rescued during the operation,” the police official said. The dead were shifted to a morgue, where two of them were identified as Jamila Bibi and Samina.

The injured – identified as Mariyum, Manzoor, Khadim, Ume Ammara, Tariq, Bilal, Imran and Sarwar – were later shifted to the Pattoki THQ Hospital where medics said their condition was stable.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2016.