Seven burnt alive in bus-truck collision in Chagai

QUETTA: At least seven passengers were burnt alive and eight others received burn injuries, after a passenger coach collided with a truck and caught fire. The accident occurred near the Nokundi area of Chagai district Saturday morning.

Official sources said that the passenger coach was travelling to the border town of Taftan from Quetta. The coach collided with a truck coming from opposite side at a blind turn near the Landhi area of Nokundi.



Chagai district’s Deputy Commissioner Shahik Baloch said “both the vehicles caught fire after the collision, leaving seven dead, including the drivers.” He confirmed that the seven dead were burnt alive, while eight passengers were injured. One of the injured was an official of the Frontier Corps.

Soon after the incident, FC personnel and Levies official rushed to the site, and shifted dead and the injured to the Prince Fahad hospital Dalbandin. The DC also said that four out of the seven bodies were beyond recognition, adding that three bodies had been identified. They were identified as Pervez Ahmed, Luckmir Khan and Malik Shah Muhammad.



According to a levies official the coach was carrying 25 passengers to Taftan from Quetta. He also said, “investigation is under way to ascertain the cause of the fire after the collision.”  Four out of the eight who were injured have been shifted to the Bolan Medical College Hospital in Quetta as their burn injuries were critical.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2016.