9 dead in Khuzdar road accident

At least nine people died on Tuesday and 12 others sustained critical injuries in a road accident in the Khuzdar district of Balochistan.

The accident took place after a passenger van rammed into a car near Totak cross on the RCD highway linking Balochistan with Sindh province, Levies sources said.

Jehanzaib Baloch, assistant commissioner Khuzdar, said the dead also included women and children, adding that over a dozen people were injured in the deadly traffic accident.

Rescue workers and Levies personnel reached the spot and shifted the injured to the government teaching hospital Khuzdar while an emergency was imposed in the medical facility to provide medical treatment to the injured in the traffic accident.

GTH Medical Superintendent Dr Saeed said six bodies were initially brought to the hospital, while three of the injured who were in critical condition succumbed to their wounds later.

"The death toll is likely to increase as still two injured are critical", Dr Saeed stated.
Reckless driving and poor and narrow roads have claimed precious human lives in Balochistan with such accidents becoming more rampant, especially on the Quetta-Karachi highway-- a route also notoriously known as the "killer highway".

The National Highway Authority (NHA) has also urged the transporters to avoid travelling on the highway because floods have washed away various portions and caused the suspension of the traffic between the two provinces.