Water tanker kills one as it rams into bank
Residents of DHA have to rely on water tankers. On Tuesday, residents and elected representatives exchanged heated arguments and threatened each other of dire consequences at the CBC office. PHOTO: EXPRESS
A man was killed and five others injured on Monday when a water tanker ran over them and plunged into a private bank across the road.
The water tanker skidded down Kati Pahari, in North Nazimabad's J Block, reportedly due to brake failure, running people over and damaging several vehicles along the way.
Rescue workers and the police shifted the deceased and injured to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. While efforts were made to extricate the water tanker from the private bank, its driver managed to flee.
According to North Nazimabad SHO Rashid Alvi, the deceased, identified as Ibrahim Muhammad Din, was at the bank to pay utility bills when the tanker hurtled into the bank and hit him.
The injured were identified as Ibrahim Rajab Ali, 40, who was the driver of one of the bank employees, Mir Saeed, 50, the security guard, and Murtaza Muktiar, 30, Hikmat, 35, and Mir Saeed, 50, who the police believe were pedestrians or bank customers.
The SHO said the accident occurred due to the tanker's brakes failing, adding that the police were working to locate and arrest the driver.
However, speaking to the media, North Nazimabad assistant commissioner Faheem Khan maintained they would investigate whether the accident was caused due to speeding by the driver or brake failure. Heavy cargo vehicles are barred from traveling in the city during daytime but there is no restriction on water tankers, he added.
Area residents, though, asserted the accident occurred due to dilapidated roads, long ignored by the administration despite several complaints.
Meanwhile, Traffic Central SP Aijazuddin pointed to flaws in the Kati Pahari project, stating that the hill was not cut properly and there was no service road for residents. "A service road would have acted as a fence between Kati Pahari and the main road," he opined, adding that it might have prevented such accidents from occurring.
According to Aijazuddin, a similar accident had occurred at Kati Pahari before, and there was no restriction on movement in the city for water and oil tankers or dumper trucks.
"The Traffic DIG has imposed a ban on movement of water tankers over the capacity of 5,000 gallons and this tanker had a capacity of 3,000 gallons," he pointed out, adding that the tanker was carrying water and its brakes had failed. "We will henceforth ensure that no water tanker of an older model is allowed to move down the hill."
Traffic collisions
Meanwhile, four other people were killed and three other injured in separate traffic accidents in the city on the day.
A man died when a speeding car ran over him near Quetta Darbar Hotel at the Super Highway in the wee hours of Monday. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. According to the police, the deceased was identified as Muhammad Farooq, 22.
In the meantime, a motorcyclist was killed in a road accident at Karsaz. The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities, while the deceased was identified as 66-year-old Mohammad Shahnawaz.
Two people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed when they were hit by a speeding vehicle while crossing the road near Jamali Bridge at the Super Highway. The bodies, which could not immediately be identified, were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.
Meanwhile, a car and a police mobile van collided in Nazimabad, leaving two police officials and a citizen wounded. They were rushed to ASH for treatment, where the police officers were identified as Abdul Aziz and Abdur Rehman. The citizen was later shifted to a private hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2020.