Two dead, 14 injured as van carrying picnickers overturns

All the victims, including women and children, belonged to same family

KARACHI:

Two persons were injured and more than a dozen, including children, injured when a speeding van carrying a family of picnickers overturned at Gulshan-e-Hadid Mor on the National Highway due to a tyre burst on Sunday.

The victims were on their way from Korangi to Kalri Lake in Thatta for a picnic when the accident happened.

In all, 14 people, including children, were injured - one of them, a girl, is reported to be in a critical condition at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where all the casualties were brought in Edhi ambulances.

The deceased have been identified as 35-year-old Farah, wife of Arif, and 37-year-old Kaleem, son of Mohammad Sulaiman.

The injured have been identified as 27-year-old Iqra, daughter of Naveed; 25-year-old Atif, son of Mohammad Sharif; 2-year-old Hasnain, son of Arif; 36-year-old Mohammad Arif, son of Mohammad Sharif; 55-year-old Nusrat Jahan, wife of Mohammad Sharif; 8-year-old Ayesha, daughter of Arif; eight-year-old Habiba, daughter of Naveed; 12-year-old Faria, daughter of Arif; four-year-old Mohammad Asif, son of Mohammad Arif; five-year-old Mahani, daughter of Kaleem; three-year-old Mahnoor, daughter of Kaleem; one-year-old Hira, daughter of Naveed; five-year-old Khadija, daughter of Naveed; and 32-year-old Naveed, son of Nadeem.

According to Iftikhar Arain, SHO of Steel Town police station, the ill-fated picnickers belonged to the same family and hailed from the Korangi area of Karachi.

They were en route to Kalri Lake in Thatta for a picnic when the van overturned and collided with a tree on a roadside due to a rear tyre burst on the National Highway near Gulshan-e-Hadid Mor.

In all, approximately 18 people, including children and women, were travelling in the van.

Meanwhile, a motorcyclist died after ramming his two-wheeler into a car on Gizri Bridge on Sunday.

The body was transported to the JPMC by an ambulance where he was identified as 17-year-old Abdullah, son of Iqbal.

According to eyewitnesses, Abdullah was performing dangerous stunts on his speeding motorcycle when he lost control and collided with a car, fatally smashing his head on the road.

Gizri police arrived at the scene after the fatal crash, but the deceased's family refused to pursue police action. Abdullah was a resident of Sultanabad.

Separately, a man died in a traffic accident in the Shershah area.

Rescue officials said that the deceased has been identified as Sajjad Hussain, 63, who was a pedestrian and was struck by a speeding vehicle. Police are gathering further information regarding the incident.