Murree bus crash: For injured passengers and their families, days filled with agony

Some of the patients admitted a PIMS still unconscious.

ISLAMABAD:

For passengers of the Rawalpindi-bound buses which met with an accident near Murree, a pleasure trip turned into a nightmare. Of the 18 passengers who were injured, nine are admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

The two buses plunged into a ravine after colliding with each other on Wednesday evening at Salgiran. Among the injured was Zahid Hussain, 37, one of the bus drivers, with injuries to his right leg, back and eye. “I have 20 years of experience and this is the first time I had an accident,” said Hussain while speaking to The Express Tribune.

“All I remember is that while taking a turn, we were hit by another bus. My bus rolled down the mountain and into a nullah. Hussain is the sole bread winner for his family of six.



Danish Malik, 19, admitted to the same ward, went to explore Murree and enjoy the season’s snowfall. He lost two relatives in the accident.

“We got a call from his cell number and were informed that the bus in which he was travelling had been in an accident. We had no idea whether he was alive or dead,” said Aftab Malik, Danish’s father.

Another passenger, Shahid Mehboob, 28, has been unconscious since the accident. He lost two of his close relatives, Imtiaz and Qadeer in the bus crash, said Abdul Qayum, Mehboob’s father. It is very difficult for the family to wait for the day when Mehboob will regain consciousness, he added.

Rukhsana, Qasim’s mother is also waiting for a miracle. Qasim, 17, went to visit Murree with three of his friends, one of whom died. Rukhsana has been sitting on the cold floor outside the ICU since the accident took place.

“He called me and told me that he would reach Gujranwala at 11pm and asked me to cook his favourite dal chawal,” she said, but at 8pm, a relative informed her about the accident. “My son gave his cell phone to a villager who came to rescue them, asked him to inform his family and fell unconscious,” she added.



Punjab Minister for Labour and Manpower, Raja Ishfaq Sarwar, who visited the the injured passengers on Friday, said a fact-finding committee comprising of district administration and police officials has been formed on the Punjab chief minister’s direction, while speaking to media persons outside the hospital.

He said that the findings of the committee would help determine who was at fault, and what steps were needed to prevent such incidents in the future.

Responding to a question, he said that the Pakistan Baitul Mal had announced compensation for the families of victims.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2014.