Six die in road accidents in two days

BUREWALA/SIALKOT/FAISALABAD:

Six people died and over 30 were injured in road accidents in Vehari, Faisalabad and Sialkot districts on Saturday and Sunday.

Rescue-1122 officials in Burewala said that two passengers died and 21 were injured in a collision between a passenger bus and a wagon near Haji Abad Mor in Gaggoo Mandi on Sunday. The official said that the bus was on its way from Multan to Kasur. It collided with a wagon approaching from the opposite direction almost 60km away from Vehari City.

Muhammad Yaqub and Niaz Ahmed, residents of Arifwala, died on the spot. Muhammad Ashfaq, the wagon driver, and 20 other passengers were injured. Rescue-1122 officials took the injured to the tehsil headquarters hospital for treatment. Those injured include Muhammad Rafiq, Nawaz Ahmed, Shakeel Ahmed, Raja Riaz, Iram Bibi, Rukhsana Bibi, Hameeda Bibi, Siddiqa Bibi, Sanam Bibi and Safia Bibi.

In Sialkot, four people died and 11 others were injured after a speeding bus ran them over on Jammu Road near Ban Phattak on Saturday.

Police said that the people were waiting to catch a bus at a bus stop. Rescue-1122 officials took them to a hospital for treatment. Doctors treating them said that the condition of four of those injured was critical.

After the incident took place, scores of people gathered at the scene and protested against the incident. They also tried to torch the bus but the police managed to hold them off.

Fireworks go off in a bus

Two members of a wedding party were seriously injured when a bag of fireworks caught fire from a live cigarette butt in a bus on Sunday.

Khurarianwala police said that a wedding party were en-route from Sahiwal to Khurarianwala when fireworks being carried in the bus caught fire and exploded. One of the wedding party had flicked a cigarette butt onto a sack carrying the fireworks.

Police said that the firecrackers exploded and the vehicle caught fire. The passengers managed to get off the bus on time, but 20-year-old Faisal and 40-year-old Rafiq received serious burns. They were taken to Allied Hospital in Faisalabad where doctors treating them said that their condition was serious.

Khurarianwala police visited the scene and took five people into custody for questioning.

Asghar Ali, from the wedding party, said that they were aware that fireworks were prohibited. “Some of our relatives thought that they could get away with it though and brought along a sacksful of firecrackers.” He said that they had wanted to light them up after the wedding.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th,  2016.