89 people die in 618 road accidents in Punjab

DEO says 423 accidents were caused by speeding

RAHIM YAR KHAN:  

Rescue 1122 received 66,902 emergency calls and rescued 2,566 people in the month of July, a report released by district emergency officer stated on Friday.

While giving details, DEO Dr Abdul Sattar Babar said that Rescue 1122 received 66,902 calls and 2,409 of those were emergencies, while 679 were related to information.

He added that rescue officials responded to 618 road traffic accidents, 27 fire cases, 66 crimes, 13 drownings, 1,428 medical cases and 257 others.

Moreover, he highlighted that Rescue 1122 service rescued 2,566 patients out of which 343 were given medical aid, 2,134 were taken to nearby hospitals. As many as 89 died on the spot of the incident.

He maintained that 78 emergencies, on average, were received on a daily basis during July.

He said that 618 road accidents were recorded in the month and 790 persons were injured including, 641 males and 149 females. Eight of the victims died on the spot.

The DEO pointed out that 423 accidents were caused by speeding and 195 were caused by driver negligence.

Babar said that 647 motorcycles, 73 cars, 86 rickshaws, five buses, 18 tractor trolleys and 89 other vehicles were involved in the road crashes.

He mentioned that 923 patients were transferred from one hospital to another using the patient transfer service. He stated that 104 patients were shifted to hospitals in Rahim Yar Khan, 290 to Sadiqabad, 314 to Khanpur, 215 in Liaquatpur while 122 were taken out of the district and shifted to bigger hospitals.

Meanwhile, traffic police miserably failed to control road crashes in the district despite allocation of funds for creating awareness regarding traffic laws.

Despite allocating millions of rupees for the purpose, the traffic police department in the district did not initiate awareness campaigns and launch a crackdown against those violating traffic rules.