Five crushed as dumper tips sideways, falls on car

SWABI: Five of a family died, while three others were seriously injured when a heavily loaded dumper-truck fell on a car near Topi Bypass in Swabi district on Wednesday.

The driver of the dumper truck was negotiating a sharp turn on a roundabout when he lost control of the vehicle and it turned sideways falling on the car running next to it. People inside the car were crushed under the huge weight. The driver fled the site.

According to the local police officer, a family was leaving for airport from the Kohta village when their car came under the loaded dumper at an intersection.

The deceased included Muhammad Bilal, Muhmamad Ilyas, three other were cousins Muhammad Irashad, Daud Khan and Sadaqat Ali, while injured included Abdullah and Muhammad Wasif.

Police said Bilal, who had to catch a flight to Dubai, was travelling to Islamabad Airport along with his brother Muhammad Ilyas and three cousins Sadaqat Ali, Liaquat Ali and Irshad when a dumper hit their vehicle near Topi Bypass, leaving them dead on the spot. Three children of Irshad were also injured in the accident.

The news of five young men perishing in a road crash rocked the village community in Kohta. People converged to the homes of devastated families to console and express condolences over the tragic event.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2017.