12 killed as vehicles slip on rain soaked roads

Six vehicles pile up on M9 as drivers fail to understand slippery road in rain

KARACHI:

At least 12 people, including three women and children, were killed and 16 others — among them five women and minors — injured in a series of traffic accidents caused by slippery roads due to rain in the city on Tuesday.

The deadliest accident occurred on the M-9 Motorway near Kathore Bridge, close to DHA City, where six vehicles — a dumper, trailer, two trucks, a bus and a van — collided due to slippery road conditions caused by rain. Drivers failed to handle the vehicles while descending the bridge.

According to a Motorway Police spokesperson, four people, including a woman and her teenage son, sustained critical injuries and died while being shifted to hospital in Edhi ambulances.

The deceased were identified as 50-year-old Hameeda, her 15-year-old son Abdul Hadi, 45-year-old Wali Muhammad and 24-year-old Zahid Abdul Ghani. Sixteen others were injured and taken to the Civil Hospital Trauma Centre, while the bodies were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for legal formalities. DIG Motorway South Syed Fareed Ali and SP Afzal Majeed supervised rescue and traffic clearance operations at the site.

In another accident near Ammar Tower in DHA Phase VIII, the driver of a speeding jeep lost control of the speeding vehicle which hit the median and flew on to the other side and overturned. The vehicle hit and killed a motorcyclist, 50-year-old Ali Muhammad, an online bike rider and resident of Lyari's Usmanabad. The jeep's occupants fled the scene.

Separate incidents claimed additional lives, including 22-year-old motorcyclist Sufyan near Chakar Hotel on the Superhighway, seven-year-old pedestrian Mantasha in Baldia, 38-year-old Kamran in Keamari after his LPG-laden pickup rammed into a parked trailer.

Moreover, three persons — including two women — died in a collision between two vehicles in a housing society on the Superhighway. According to the Edhi Foundation, the victims were traveling in a van. The deceased were identified as 40-year-old Syed Baqar Hussain, 35-year-old Maryam, and 22-year-old Syeda Shuja Fatima.

The accident had taken place after two vehicles collided, causing the van to overturn. Police are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Woman dies as tree falls on her

A 30-year-old woman, Wakeelan Bibi, was killed after a date palm tree uprooted by strong gusts collapsed on her during rain in Memon Goth on Tuesday.

According to police, Wakeelan was working in the date garden at the time of the fateful incident. She died on the spot.

SHO Memon Goth Javed Abro said the body was handed over to the heirs after completion of legal formalities.