Road accident: School van overturns, killing three children

They were on their way home from a primary school in Pannu Aqil.

SUKKUR:

Three small boys were killed and 15 others were injured when a school van overturned at the National Highway, 25 kilometres away from Sukkur, on Tuesday afternoon.

Children from a primary school in Pannu Aqil were on their way to Bagh Pai village near Sangi. The bus spun out of control while overtaking a speeding trailer.

Zunair Ghunio, 8, died on the spot while 15 others were injured. They were rushed to the Pannu Aqil taluka hospital, Combined Military Hospital Pannu Aqil Cantonment and Civil Hospital Sukkur.

Yamin Jatoi succumbed to his injuries in taluka hospital Pannu Aqil and 11-year-old Yasin Jatoi died in a private hospital in Sukkur.

A resident of Bagh Pai village, Allah Rakhiyo Abbasi, told The Express Tribune that the driver of the van, Abdul Ghaffar Jatoi, is missing. Abbasi’s younger brother, Ghulam Mujtaba Abbasi, who worked as a cleaner with the school van was also brought to Civil Hospital Sukkur in critical condition.

According to him, all the children belonged to Bagh Pai and Haji Khan Ghunio villages. The injured children include, Shakeel, Mohammad Yousuf, Khaliq-ur-Rehman, Amjad Abbasi and others.

Amjad said that the van driver had been speeding. The trailer had hit the van from behind when their vehicle was taking a sharp turn.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2011.