Poor visibility: 8 killed, 30 injured in road accidents across Punjab

Six die in Chichawatni, Jhang accidents, two dead in accident in Gujranwala.

RAHIM YAR KHAN/ GUJRANWALA/ CHICHAWATNI:

Early winter fog caused two more accidents early Thursday morning in the Punjab, in which five people died.

Twelve people were also injured in road accidents on Wednesday night in South Punjab.

A couple and their 18 month old daughter died in Chichawatni when their car collided with a truck. Police identified the victim as Saif Ali, Hanna Bibi and Amna. Two children and a woman, who were also in the car, received injuries and were taken to Sahiwal Hospital. Officials said the family had been on its way from Lahore to Multan but met the accident on the Kasuwal Bypass Road.

The injured were identified as Zain, 16; Daud, 12 and Razia, a relative of the family.

The other accident took place in Gujranwala, in which two students died and six others were injured.

Police said that a van carrying students hit a truck because of poor visibility. The motorcycle, with the two victims, was behind the van and rammed into it. The impact killed both the students on the bike, identified as Ashraf, 20; and Adnan, 18. Six of the students in the van were injured.

They were taken to Civil Hospital.

Three people died and six others were injured, four of them seriously, in road accidents near Jhang.

A tractor trolley hit a rickshaw on Faisalabad Road, killing Azhar, Afzal and Arif on the spot. Two passengers, Tahir and Ahmed, sustained serious injuries.

The trolley driver said he did not see the rickshaw due to thick fog. The injured were admitted to a nearby hospital.

On Bhakkar Road, a truck turned turtle while taking a turn near Athara Hazari area. The driver said he had missed the turn because of the fog. Two of the four people who were injured are said to be in a serious condition.

On Wednesday night, 15 people were injured in highway accidents in southern Punjab caused by poor visibility.

A passenger bus overturned while trying to avoid a motorcyclist. Twelve passengers were injured as a result. The bus driver fled.

In another incident near Sultanpur, an APV carrying newspapers hit a tractor trolley parked at a roadside. The APV driver Nasir Hussain suffered multiple fractures to his legs.

Two passengers in the van were also injured and taken to hospital.

Hussain said the accident had been caused because the tractor trolley had no reflectors installed.

Police impounded the tractor trolley and are searching for its driver.

ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2012.