Five perish in ambulance-oil tanker collision

Officials say thorough inquiry will determine cause of serious accident

RAWALPINDI:

Five people, including women, died when an ambulance collided with an oil tanker late Friday night.

According to the police, a Rescue 1122 ambulance carrying a paraplegic patient from Attock to Rawalpindi collided with an oil tanker, resulting in five fatalities, including three women and the paraplegic patient while three others suffered critical injuries.

The female patient was being shifted from Attock District Headquarters Hospital to Rawalpindi District Headquarters Hospital due to inadequate facilities at the Attock hospital between the night of Friday and Saturday. Four of the deceased, including three women, were members of the same family. The ambulance was carrying eight individuals, including two rescue personnel when the accident took place in front of the Hakla Interchange.

The deceased were identified as a 32-year-old medical technician Imran, 52-year-old Shaheen, 70-year-old Kamana Bibi, 40-year-old Sameena, and 44-year-old Riyaz Sham while ambulance driver Waqar Ahmed, 60-year-old Abdul Waheed, and 36-year-old Rukhsana are critically injured.

The crash was so severe that the bodies of two individuals, including rescue personnel, had to be extracted by cutting the ambulance.

Sources claimed that the female patient's condition was not critical and she could have temporarily stayed overnight at the District Headquarters Hospital Attock, but doctors insisted on shifting her. The ambulance was destroyed in the accident. Emergency services responded swiftly, dispatching Frontier Works Organisation, three additional ambulances, and a fire tanker to the scene in Rawalpindi.

The deceased and injured were transported to PIMS Hospital in Islamabad via the Motorway. Local police have registered a case, however, the exact cause of the accident remains unknown.

Rescue 1122 officials revealed that the injured driver, Waqar Ahmed, is a crucial eyewitness to the accident and his statement could shed light on the cause of the crash. However, he is still in a critical condition in the hospital.

Officials said that ambulances operating under the Patient Transport Service (PTS) are regularly maintained, and a thorough inquiry will determine whether the accident was a result of human error or a mechanical fault in the ambulance.

The local police said that the bodies have been handed over to the heirs after completing medico-legal formalities. A comprehensive report on the accident will be submitted to the Punjab government, while Rescue 1122 management has also initiated a departmental inquiry to investigate the incident.