Passengers were from two families; police say truck was overloaded and speeding. PHOTO: FILE
At least 65 residents of this town — most of them from the same extended family — in Sargodha district were on their way to visit a shrine near Kallar Kahar, some 150 kilometres north of their hometown, on Saturday evening. But they never reached the destination.
The overloaded mini-truck carrying them sped off the road near the Martan Khurd village near Kallar Kahar in Chakwal district and plunged into a ravine. By Sunday morning, the overnight death toll had risen to 18, authorities said. At least 47 passengers were injured.
Gravediggers in the town’s graveyard were working under plastic sheets to keep rainwater from pooling inside the freshly dug earth. Some graves were only a few feet in length, the final resting places of at least three children killed in the accident. Police and rescue officials in Chakwal district had revised down the number after initially stating that five of the dead were children.
Police and district officials said there were around 25 children onboard. Four women also perished in the accident, they said.
The dead bodies of 16 passengers were brought back to the Chhota Sahiwal on Sunday morning, with funerals and burials expected to take place later in the evening.
The mini-truck’s passengers reportedly belonged to two extended families from the town, with 15 of the deceased coming from the same family.
A police officer at the Kallar Kahar Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the accident site, said the passengers were headed the to Pir Khara shrine, a popular religious destination in north Punjab.
“The driver of the mini-truck, who was unfamiliar with the local road, was injured in the accident. We have not recorded his statement yet,” a Kallar Kahar police officer said. “The accident occurred due to brake-failure and speeding. The truck was also overloaded at the time of the accident.”
Darkness and the remote mountainous area hampered rescue efforts on Saturday night, even though local rescue staff responded immediately.
The dead and injured were shifted to three different hospitals because health facilities nearby did not have the capacity to handle the number of victims.
Some of the critically wounded were transported to a hospital in Chakwal, where an emergency was declared to help with treatment of the injured, and to Sargodha District Headquarters Hospital.
The accident occurred in the hilly terrain of the Kallar Kahar salt range, which is known for its tricky slopes and sharp bends in the road. Just over a week ago, another bus destined for Pir Khara had overturned on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway near Kallar Kahar due to brake failure, killing three passengers.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed grief over the Chakwal accident and ordered the district administrations in Chakwal and Sargodha to provide treatment facilities to the injured and support for the bereaved families.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2014.
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