Horrific accident: Survivors recount Sassui Toll Plaza crash

Five killed, 27 injured as bus crashes into column of toll plaza Tuesday morning

KARACHI: Another deadly highway accident on Tuesday in the outskirts of the port city wreaked havoc with the lives of the common citizens.

"The bus was overloaded and speeding when it crossed Steel Town just before the incident," said Ghulam Rasool. "After the incident occurred most of the passengers were unconscious."

Rasool was one of the many unfortunate passengers aboard the Tando Bagho-bound bus, which crashed into a column of the Sassui Toll Plaza on the National Highway. At least six passengers were killed and over 27 injured in the accident. The bus left Lea Market in Karachi at around 6:15am. Rasool said that of the five people accompanying him, one - Anwar Khan - died and two of his nephews sustained head injuries and are being treated at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre's (JPMC) emergency ward. Rasool broke down while recounting the sequence of events. After taking a break, he said that soon after the accident, "Most of the passengers were covered in blood and had fallen unconscious."

A victim who was being treated for a head injury at JPMC told The Express Tribune that, "Either the brakes failed or the front tyre burst, after which it hit a column of the Sassui Toll Plaza".

He added that many passengers were injured because the chassis of the bus broke off from the rest of the body.

Among the injured was a labourer identified as Ameer Ali, who has a head injury and broken leg. Ali said the bus was full and the accident occurred between 8:15am and 8:30am.

Furthermore, among the dead were two female public school teachers who had boarded the bus near Bhains Colony for Gharo. Muhammad Suleman, the son of one of the teachers, was grief-stricken. The boy's eyes were frozen on his mother's body in disbelief.

JPMC head Seemin Jamali said five persons brought to the hospital had died on the way, which included two women and three men. Jamali said that out of the 27 injured, five had already been admitted while the rest were discharged after receiving treatment.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2017.