Swabi highway crash kills 17

Six others also critically injured when spending van rammed into bus parked on roadside

SWABI:

At least 17 people were killed and six others sustained serious injuries when a speeding passenger van collided with a stationary bus parked along the roadside in Swabi district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

According to officials of the National Highways and Motorway Police, a passenger bus traveling from Karachi to Buner developed a fault and was parked on the roadside near the Ismaila Interchange on the Swat Expressway in Swabi.

Meanwhile, a passenger van traveling from Rawalpindi to Dir came along the road at full speed and rammed into the bus from behind. The impact of the collision was so intense that the van was completely crushed.

Authorities confirmed that 17 passengers, including elderly people, women, and children, lost their lives, while six others sustained serious injuries. Initial investigations suggested that the accident occurred due to negligence and carelessness on the part of the van driver, who failed to avoid the stationary vehicle.

Rescue teams and motorway police rushed to the scene immediately after receiving information and shifted the bodies and the injured to Mardan Medical Complex.

Officials said the identities of several victims could not be immediately confirmed; however, it later emerged that most of the deceased and injured belonged to Upper Dir and Bajaur areas.

Rescue 1122 officials further stated that five of the deceased belonged to the Luqman Banda area of Lower Dir, including four members of the same family.

The victims were identified as 60-year-old Musa Muhammad, his two sons Sherbaz and Said Nawab, his grandson Abdul Rahim, and another individual, Fazal Subhan.

Authorities later launched a formal investigation into the incident. The tragic accident has left the affected areas in deep mourning as families grieve the loss of their loved ones.