Five die as coach rams into tractor-trolley

Driver, passengers travelling from Pakpattan to Faisalabad among victims

DIJKOT:

A collision between a passenger coach and a tractor-trolley on Tuesday claimed five lives and left several other passengers injured.

Local officials said the coach was en route from Pakpattan to Faisalabad when it rammed into the tractor-trolley from the rear near Gobindpura Stop. Local people said the loud crash was heard from a considerable distance.

Passengers of the coach and the driver of the tractor were among the casualties.

When Rescue 1122 teams arrived at the scene, tractor driver Anwar, 55, from Mianwali had already lost his life. The coach conductor Tariq from Rawalpindi, Zubair from Tandlianwala, Yasin and Mushtaq from Marzi Pura died while being shifted to hospital.

The injured included Saeed, 55, Aqiba, 40, and Abid, 54, residents of Dipalpur, and other passengers.

Police said they had informed the families of the deceased about the accident and also started an investigation.

Meanwhile, at least 16 people were killed and 1,277 injured in 1,168 road traffic crashes (RTCs) across Punjab during the past 24 hours.

Of the injured, 661 people with serious injuries were shifted to hospitals, while 606 with minor injuries were treated at the sites by Rescue Medical Teams. As many as 76 per cent of the road accidents in the province involved motorbikes.

Official data showed that 614 adult and 33 underage drivers, 191 pedestrians and 478 passengers were among the victims.

The statistics showed that 260 traffic crashes were reported in Lahore with 314 victims, followed by Multan with 103 RTCs and 103 victims, and Faisalabad with 77 RTCs and 82 victims.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2023.