Eight perish in M-2 bus plunge

CHAKWAL:

At least eight passengers, including a girl and a woman, were killed, and 15 others were injured after a speeding bus flipped into a deep ravine on M-2 near Neela Dullah, witnesses and police said.

The motorway police and rescue teams reached the scene promptly, providing initial medical aid to the injured and transporting the deceased and the injured to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Chakwal, Lateefwal and Rawalpindi.

The driver of the ill-fated bus, which was traveling from Karachi to Swat with 43 passengers on board, lost control over the wheels, following which the vehicle veered off the road and rolled down into a ravine.

Five passengers, including a girl, a woman, and three men, died on the spot, while three others were severely injured. In total, 18 passengers were injured, and they received initial medical treatment before being moved to nearby hospitals. Tragically, three of the seriously injured male passengers later succumbed to their injuries.

The police and rescuers launched an investigation into the incident. Preliminary police investigations suggested negligence on the part of the bus driver.

Following the instructions of the Secretary to the Chief Minister Inspection Team, Chaudhry Sultan Muhammad Haider, local leaders Chaudhry Sultan and Sheryar Ali Khan arrived at the DHQ Hospital Chakwal. Accompanied by the Deputy Medical Superintendent (DMS), they visited all emergency wards and instructed that the injured be provided with the best medical care.

Taufiq Asif, the general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, District Karachi, contacted Irfan Younis Advocate, the District Amir of Chakwal, regarding the transportation of the bodies of those who had died in the Neela Dullah bus accident to Karachi.