KHAIRPUR: As the death toll from deadly Kharipur accident rose to 60, police said Wednesday they will investigate the National Highway Authority (NHA) over the crash that killed 57 people, blaming the poor condition of the road for the accident.
Earlier, eyewitnesses and Edhi sources had said that the driver of the passenger bus had fallen asleep behind the wheel which led to the collision.
On Wednesday, an FIR was filed by Station House Officer Amir Khan against the National Highway Authority (NHA). However, no one individual has been nominated in the FIR yet.
A section of the National Highway, which the above bypass is connected to, has been under construction for the past five years while the other side is also partially damaged
The bus smashed into a goods truck loaded with coal near Khairpur, 450 kilometres north of Karachi. There were 18 children among the dead.
District police chief Nasir Aftab told AFP the initial investigation found the road was in poor condition and had no warning signs to alert drivers to the danger.
"A first information report (FIR) for becoming cause of death has been registered and the concerned departments will be investigated for the bus accident," Aftab said.
He said it was the first time a government department would be investigated for a road accident in Pakistan.
Motorway police official Faisal Chachar said that a 61-kilometre stretch of the road was in poor condition, having developed a significant furrow in its surface.
A senior motorway police officer told AFP on Tuesday the bus driver, carrying Pashtun families from northwestern Swat valley to Karachi, had lost control after hitting the rut in the road.
Pakistan has an appalling record of fatal traffic accidents due to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. Crashes killing dozens of people are not uncommon.
In April a bus smashed into a tractor-trailer in a high-speed collision in Sindh, killing 42 people, while in March a horrific crash between two buses and a petrol tanker left 35 dead, with many burned alive when the fuel ignited.
A day after the unfortunate accident, bodies were transported to Risalpur, Swat and Karachi through Edhi ambulances. Edhi Foundation has arranged for coffins, transportation and medical for the deceased free of charge.
Funeral prayers for five deceased from Karachi were also offered today. They all belonged to the same family.
COMMENTS (9)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
It was Motorway Police and District police's from this coach travelled to ensure that there is no overspeeding. They failed to perform their duty and pointing fingers at others. Were they also not supposed to ensure that driver takes proper rest.
I am evident of the road condition since last 5 years, major and NHA is 99 % responsible for this and previous accidents.
ANOTHER JOKE IN THE LAND OF PURE "On Wednesday, an FIR was filed by Station House Officer Amir Khan against the National Highway Authority (NHA). However, no one individual has been nominated in the FIR yet" now it would take 2000 more lives to nominate someone.
Police calling construction plan bad is a laughing matter. Why police didn't raise this issue from seeing the problem already? Why a Police van was not present there already to slow down. Are they going to call weather in court if that had washed away the road?
Highways in Sindh are in pathetic condition. The NHA is to be blamed. People routinely break traffic laws, the motorway police and the common man is to be blamed. Getting a license has hardly anything to do with actually knowing how to drive, the traffic police is to be questioned. The government is, as usual, looking for the least favorite of its cronies as a scapegoat, but this incident does not point to one culprit.
@turbo: Apparently there were no road signs to warn the drivers hence the case against the NHA!
we are all guilty but why those whose lives are at stake don't fight for their lives. Its true roads are bad, there are no sings, NHA is corrupt, Police is corrupt but are the drivers blind, why don't they see roads are bad, signs are missing. Why don't passengers observe that driver is sleepy, un-attentive and under the influence of drugs. The driver of the bus who had already covered over thousand kilometers must have made numerous mistakes but I am sure nobody had pointed fingure towards him. We are all cowards and naïve, anyone can endanger our lives.
Poor road construction practices, poor driving practices, poor condition of vehicles not fit for the job, some-things got to give
question is if the road was under construction, how come the bus smashed at such high speeds into a truck causing such a horrible accident? Shouldn't the bus driver had driven the bus slow?