Eleven killed in Rajanpur bus accident

RAJANPUR:

An inter-city bus on Wednesday met with a tragic accident on the Indus Highway near the Rajanpur district of Punjab a mishap that resulted in the death of at least eleven passengers. Thirty-four passengers of the bus also suffered injuries.

According to officials, the passenger bus was travelling from Karachi to DI Khan when it hit the concrete divider between two under-construction roads near Bangla Hidayat a locality in the Rojhan tehsil of Rajanpur located along the Indus Highway.

Eyewitnesses said the impact of the collision was so intense that the bus overturned. They said Rescue 1122 officials, along with some local people reached the site and started shifting the dead and the injured to Rajanpur's DHQ hospital. Fourteen people received first aid at the accident site.

The hospital sources later told The Express Tribune that eleven people succumbed to their injuries soon after the accident while 34 others sustained injuries. Seven of the injured were in critical condition. Five of these people were later referred to DI Khan while two were referred to Rahim Yar Khan hospitals.

According to officials, most of the dead and injured passengers belonged to DI Khan, Tunsa and various areas of Balochistan. They said the bodies were later shifted to their native areas after completing legal formalities.

Officials said the police in Umarkot registered a case against the bus driver. They said the apparent cause of the accident was over-speeding.