Khairpur road mishap: CM Khattak hails Pakistan Army, Sindh govt for cooperation

PESHAWAR:

K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has lauded the efforts of Pakistan Army and Sindh government for facilitating the transportation of dead bodies to Swat from the Khairpur road accident.

Upon the K-P government’s request, a C-130 plane was provided by Pakistan Army Sukkur GOC and the Sindh government in order to airlift and transport the bodies to Swat from where the district administration would take them to their respective villages. In a handout issued on Tuesday, the chief minister thanked the two institutions for providing timely rescue and treatment facilities to those who suffered injuries in the collision.

Around 58 people died and 18 were injured when a Karachi-bound passenger bus from Swat collided head-on with a freight truck at Thetri bypass in Khairpur district, Sindh in the wee hours of Tuesday. According to eyewitnesses and Edhi volunteers, the driver of the passenger bus dozed off while driving.



“The accident was so severe that all of them died at the spot, except for one child who died undergoing treatment in the hospital,” Jaffer Soomro, a doctor, told AFP by phone from Khairpur Civil Hospital.

CM Khattak expressed profound grief over the incident and issued directives to Malakand and Swat administrations to ensure burial arrangements for the deceased and best available treatment facilities for the injured. It was decided that the bodies along with the attendants would be airlifted to Risalpur Air Base by the C-130 from where military helicopters will transport them to Swat.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2014.