Five of a family killed in horrific road crash

CM directs officials to ensure best medical care for three injured women

TANDO ADAM:

Five members of a family, including two five-year-old boys, were killed and three women injured when a passenger coach and a car collided head-on on Tando Adam Jhol Road in Sanghar district in the wee hours of Sunday.

The crash left the car trapped beneath the coach, with the dead and injured pinned inside for hours, while the coach driver fled the scene. The passenger coach was travelling from Karachi to Sanghar when it collided head-on with the car.

The deceased were identified as 48-year-old Mano Kolhi, his 40-year-old wife Neelan, their 30-year-old son Ramoon, his five-year-old son Deval, and five-year-old Kanyo, identified in the police account as Ramoon's nephew.

Three women, Roshni, Heeri, wife of Ramoon, and Gulabi, sustained injuries.

Police and local residents rushed to the scene after receiving information about the crash. The car was cut free from beneath the coach to retrieve the bodies and rescue the injured, who were shifted to the taluka hospital. The injured women were later referred to Hyderabad for further treatment.

The coach driver escaped after the collision. Following the completion of legal formalities, the bodies were handed over to the bereaved family.

According to police, the victims belonged to the village of Bilawal Khoso in the New Saeedabad taluka of Matiari district. The family was returning home after attending a charity feast in the village of Piro Faqir Shoro when tragedy struck.

The arrival of the five bodies in Bilawal Khoso plunged the village into grief, with anguished cries echoing through the bereaved household and a pall of mourning descending on the area.

The family had suffered a similar catastrophe in 2019, when seven young labourers from the same household were killed and several others seriously injured in a collision between a Qingqi rickshaw and a passenger coach near Wanjhari on the National Highway. Some of the survivors were left disabled.

Described as extremely poor and struggling to make ends meet, the family is now facing the burden of arranging the latest victims' last rites. Social and civil society organisations have been appealing on social media for financial assistance to help cover the funeral expenses.

Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives, extending condolences to the bereaved families and praying for the speedy recovery of the injured.

He directed the relevant authorities to ensure the provision of the best possible medical treatment to those injured. He also expressed heartfelt sympathy with the families of the deceased.

Urging citizens and drivers to strictly observe traffic laws, the CM stressed the need to avoid overspeeding and reckless driving, saying the protection of human lives should be every citizen's foremost priority.

He called on drivers to operate vehicles carefully and within prescribed speed limits, warning that even a moment of negligence could lead to a fatal accident. Strict compliance with traffic regulations and responsible driving, he said, could help save precious lives.