22 perish in accident near Killa Saifullah

Five women, as many children among dead as passenger van falls into deep ravine

QUETTA:

At least 22 passengers were killed, including 12 members of the same family, while a teenaged boy received critical injuries, when a passenger van fell into a deep ravine in Killa Saifullah district of Balochistan on Wednesday morning.

The passenger van was going to Zhob from Loralai when the tragedy occurred in the Akhtarzai area near Killa Saifullah Bazaar, Hafiz Muhammad Qasim Kakar, the deputy commissioner of Killa Saifullah told Express Tribune.

“Levies and rescue workers have recovered 22 bodies from the spot and shifted them to the district headquarters hospital in Killa Saifullah. The deceased included 12 men, 5 women and 5 children,” Kakar said. “Twelve of the deceased were from the same family.”

قلعہ سیف اللہ کے علاقے میں ویگن کھائی میں جاگری

حادثے میں 12 مسافر جاں بحق جبکہ متعدد زخمی ہوگئے

مسافر ویگن لورالائی سے ژوب جارہی تھی کہ حادثے کا شکار ہوگئی pic.twitter.com/3OLK7vYLkG

— RegionalTelegraph (@RegnlTelegraph) June 8, 2022

According to Kakar, the bodies were later handed over to the heirs after the completion of the legal formalities. He also said that the injured child – the lone survivor – was rushed to a hospital in Quetta in a serious condition.

Read Five of family killed in accident

Officials did not reveal much about the cause of the accident. Kakar said that the tragedy occurred because the van’s breaks failed. “The driver was speeding and broke through a protective wall at a bend in the road, falling hundreds of feet into the ravine,” Kakar said.

President Arif Alvi expressed sorrow over the accident and ordered authorities to make arrangements to deliver the bodies of passengers to their families.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Quddus Bizenjo also expressed grief and sorrow over the accident. He directed the administration to support the bereft families and provide better medical treatment to the injured child.

In Balochistan, traffic accidents have claimed scores of precious human lives. Such tragic incidents have almost become order of the day on the Quetta-Karachi, Zhob, Sibi, Chaman, Taftan highways in the province.

(WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)