29 dead, 58 injured across province during Eid break

Two teenage boys drown while swimming in Khanpur Dam

ABBOTABAD/ LAKKI MARWAT/ BANNU/ MARDAN/ TIMERGARA: At least 24 people died and 58 were injured across the province during the first two days of Eid. These included 12 deaths and 18 injuries from different parts of Hazara and 12 deaths and 41 injuries from Mardan, Lakki Marwat, Timergara and Bannu.

Tragedy strikes in Hazara

According to the police, four members of a family died while five others were wounded when a jeep plunged into a ravine in Battagram.

An official told The Express Tribune on Friday the jeep was on its way to Kandol village from Allai tehsil. It plunged into a ravine near Khaista Bela village on the day before Eid.  The family was returning home after shopping for the next day. Wajidullah, Samiullah, Usman and Paeno Bibi died on the spot while Mian Jan, Abine Amin, Khwesha Bibi, Zainullah and Shamsa Bibi were wounded. The injured were referred to Ayub Medical Complex, Abbottabad.

In another incident, five members of a family were killed while 13 others were critically wounded when a car fell into a roadside gorge near Gali Baniyan village, four kilometres away from Abbottabad City on the second day of Eid.

Nawanshehr SHO Shehryar Khan told The Express Tribune, a family from DI Khan was going to Thandiyani on the second day of Eid when their vehicle plunged into a ravine near Gali Baniyan on Murree-Abbottabad Road.

As a result, four people died on the spot while 14 others were wounded. Rescue workers shifted them to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital Abbottabad from where the injured were referred to Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH). A wounded passenger succumbed to her injuries on the way to ATH. The deceased were identified as Kulsoom Bibi, Muhammad Ahsan, Ajwa Bibi, Rizwan and Aroosa Bibi.

Deep waters

Separately, two teenage boys were killed after drowning in Khanpur Dam. According to the police, Rafi and Tanvir came to Khanpur Dam from Havelian along with their friends. However, the two boys were swept away by a heavy current and drowned. Their bodies were found on Wednesday evening.

Reckless driving

A man died while two others were wounded when two cars collided on Bypass Road near Fazal Colony in Mardan. Sanaullah told the police he was travelling to Mardan for a picnic along with friends Shehzad and Akhtar when a speeding car rammed into their bike. Shehzad was killed on the spot while Akhtar and Sanaullah were injured.

At least ten passengers, including a child, died and 16 others were injured when a passenger bus collided with a rickshaw on Begu Khel Road in Lakki Marwat. The wounded were rushed to the hospital by locals.

At least three people died and 17 others were injured in separate road accidents on the second day of Eidul Fitr in Lower Dir.

According to the police, a woman was killed and three other passengers were wounded when a car plunged into a ravine in Taran Bala. In another case in Kamrat, Amjad Jan, a tourist, died and four others were injured when their vehicle rammed into another car.

Separately, a man was killed while 10 others were wounded when a passenger van fell into a gorge in Rabat. The injured were rushed to District Headquarters Hospital Timergara. According to a police official majority of accidents took place due to over-speeding and reckless driving.

Moreover, three people died and six others were injured in road accidents in Bannu.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2016.