Speed kills: Eight killed, 12 injured in road accidents
A van collides with a bus; a college van runs into a tractor trolley.
BAHAWALPUR/GUJRANWALA:
Eight people died and three were injured in two traffic accidents in Bahawalpur and Gujranwala on Wednesday.
In Bahawalpur, five people of a family, including a three-month-old, were killed and nine others were injured in a bus-van collision on Ahmpadpur East Road.
The injured were taken to Bahawal Victoria Hospital, where doctors treating them said that two of them had suffered serious injuries. They would likely survive, they said.
The driver and the conductor of the bus fled the scene and the bus was impounded by police. No one in the bus was injured.
Rescue official Asif Rahim Channar said that a passenger bus collided with a van near Noorpur, some 25 kilometres from Bahawalpur at around 4:40am. He said the 14 people in the van were heading to Ahmpadpur East to attend a funeral.
He said according to witnesses, the bus driver had lost its control and ran into the van. Five people in the van were killed on the spot and nine were injured.
Inspector Aamir Shahzad of the Highway Police told The Express Tribune that fog may have been a factor.
However, he said, a case was registered against the bus driver for reckless driving.
In Gujranwala, three college students were killed and three others were injured when a college van collided with a tractor-trolley. One of the injured was later reported to be in critical condition.
Rescue officials said that a college van, carrying 11 students, was heading to Gujranwala College, when it collided with an oncoming tractor-trolley near Kot Ghulam Rasul. Three students, identified as Ramsha, 17, Abeera, 17, and Huma, 18, died on the spot.
Residents of the area called the rescue service and the three injured students, who got stuck in the wreckage, were pulled out. They were taken to Civil Hospital, where doctors treating them said that one of them was in a critical condition.
Traffic Warden Muhammad Yaqoob said that the accident took place due to fog. He said the college was speeding and could not apply brakes by the time it saw the tractor-trolley.
Tahira, one of the students sitting at the back of the van, said the driver did apply brakes, but the van did not stop. It skidded and the tyres make a screeching sound for a few seconds.
She said, “We thought the driver had suddenly seen a speed breaker, but then there was a huge collision and the girls at the back went rolling towards the front.”
She said the survival of some of the girls was a miracle.
The bodies of the deceased have been handed over to their families.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2012.
Eight people died and three were injured in two traffic accidents in Bahawalpur and Gujranwala on Wednesday.
In Bahawalpur, five people of a family, including a three-month-old, were killed and nine others were injured in a bus-van collision on Ahmpadpur East Road.
The injured were taken to Bahawal Victoria Hospital, where doctors treating them said that two of them had suffered serious injuries. They would likely survive, they said.
The driver and the conductor of the bus fled the scene and the bus was impounded by police. No one in the bus was injured.
Rescue official Asif Rahim Channar said that a passenger bus collided with a van near Noorpur, some 25 kilometres from Bahawalpur at around 4:40am. He said the 14 people in the van were heading to Ahmpadpur East to attend a funeral.
He said according to witnesses, the bus driver had lost its control and ran into the van. Five people in the van were killed on the spot and nine were injured.
Inspector Aamir Shahzad of the Highway Police told The Express Tribune that fog may have been a factor.
However, he said, a case was registered against the bus driver for reckless driving.
In Gujranwala, three college students were killed and three others were injured when a college van collided with a tractor-trolley. One of the injured was later reported to be in critical condition.
Rescue officials said that a college van, carrying 11 students, was heading to Gujranwala College, when it collided with an oncoming tractor-trolley near Kot Ghulam Rasul. Three students, identified as Ramsha, 17, Abeera, 17, and Huma, 18, died on the spot.
Residents of the area called the rescue service and the three injured students, who got stuck in the wreckage, were pulled out. They were taken to Civil Hospital, where doctors treating them said that one of them was in a critical condition.
Traffic Warden Muhammad Yaqoob said that the accident took place due to fog. He said the college was speeding and could not apply brakes by the time it saw the tractor-trolley.
Tahira, one of the students sitting at the back of the van, said the driver did apply brakes, but the van did not stop. It skidded and the tyres make a screeching sound for a few seconds.
She said, “We thought the driver had suddenly seen a speed breaker, but then there was a huge collision and the girls at the back went rolling towards the front.”
She said the survival of some of the girls was a miracle.
The bodies of the deceased have been handed over to their families.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2012.