Twin tragedies: At least 12 dead as speeding trucks ram into vans in Sindh

Shopkeepers claimed that the truck driver was running away from the police and lost control of the vehicle.

SUKKUR/ HYDERABAD:

Seven people were killed and 23 others injured in Sukkur when a speeding truck crashed into a multitude of vehicles. A crash on the Indus Highway near Hyderabad, also involving a truck, killed five and injured 10.

The first incident took place on the Sukkur-Shikarpur road near Sukkur's wholesale fruit and vegetable market on Saturday. A truck loaded with potatoes was on its way to the market when it went out of control and crashed into a stationary passenger van. The momentum of the truck dragged the passenger bus into a Suzuki van, with the resulting pile of vehicles then hitting a rickshaw and a donkey cart.

As a result, six were killed on the spot, while 24 were injured, including the driver of the truck. The injured were taken to Civil Hospital, Sukkur, where a minor, Muzammil, succumbed to his injuries.

One of the injured, Talib Hussain, told The Express Tribune that he was sitting in a Suzuki van when a truck hit the vehicle and dragged it a few metres. According to witnesses, the truck was veering precariously even before it hit the passenger van, clearly out of the driver's control.

Running from the police?

The general secretary of the market, Shafiqur Rehman, told The Express Tribune that there is a police check post almost a kilometre away from the market, where the police stop trucks and demand bribes. Rehman claimed that the police had signalled the driver to stop but he sped away and lost control of the vehicle.

Sukkur SSP Tanveer Tunio refuted Rehman's claims and said there were no skid marks on the road and that the truck in question was checked by a mechanic, who confirmed that the brakes had malfunctioned. However, Tunio also claimed to have suspended all policemen deployed at the check post due to the allegations levied on them and added that further investigation into the accusations are underway. "Any police official found guilty of demanding bribes or extortion money will not be spared," he claimed. He also added that the police have arrested the truck's driver and conductor.

Attacking the saviours

Edhi Centre, Sukkur, incharge Mohammad Urs Magsi told The Express Tribune that their ambulances that arrived to help the injured and take them to the hospital were attacked by scores of miscreants with wooden sticks and stones. He went on to claim that the people not only assaulted and injured the drivers but also took away the ambulances. "The ambulances were later returned to us in damaged condition after the police intervened," he said.

Shafiq denied Magsi's claims that the drivers were assaulted and the ambulances were seized. However, he admitted that, since the ambulances arrived late, the emotionally charged crowd pelted the ambulances with stones, breaking their windows.

Crash in Hyderabad

A road accident between a passenger van and a truck claimed five lives and left 10 others injured. The incident took place on the Indus Highway near Khanote in the Jamshoro district late on Friday night.

The Dadu-bound van, which was carrying passengers from Hyderabad, collided head-on with the truck, which killed two passengers on the spot. Three others succumbed to their injuries at Liaquat University Hospital. According to the Khanote police, the truck driver escaped after the accident, while an FIR has yet to be lodged. However, the truck has been impounded.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2014.