Accident update: Police trace tanker owner, driver still on the run

Initial investigation claims that there were no CNG cylinders inside the bus

KARACHI:

The investigation into Saturday night's accident have been moving at a snail's pace. While the police have identified and named the owner and the driver of the bus, no arrests have been made.

On Tuesday, they confirmed that the owner of the tanker, a resident of Punjab, had been traced but they were still looking for the tanker driver who was responsible for the accident.

What is perplexing the police is their inability to determine what the tanker was carrying and what caused the fire. To help them with the investigations, they have asked the bomb disposal squad to examine the tanker.



Some sources in the police claim that an oil tanker crashed into the passenger coach half an hour past midnight on Saturday while a few believe that CNG cylinders in the coach exploded during the collision.

What caused the fire?

While talking to The Express Tribune, a source said that the Shikarpur-bound Geo al Shoaib passenger coach had more than 66 passengers on board and was running with an invalid route permit on Link Road. The source added that the vehicle's annual fitness documents were also incomplete and the bus driver had slipped the traffic police some money.

"It is the responsibility of the motor vehicle inspection department and Regional Transport Authority to check permits," said Investigations SP Malik Altaf. "I cannot comment until I verify the vehicle's permit and fitness certificate." He added that the owner of the vehicle had put in an extra seat in the coach, which blocked the emergency exit.

He confirmed that the owner and driver of the bus had been traced along with the owner of the tanker, a resident of Punjab. A petition filed in the high court on Tuesday, however, claimed that the tanker belonged to the National Logistics Carrier.

The SP said that once they arrested the owner of the tanker, they would be able to find and arrest the driver as well. Their arrests, he claimed, would help them ascertain what the tanker was carrying.

The police have, however, ruled out the possibility of it carrying anything to be used for terrorism.

The initial reports suggested that the vehicle caught fire when the CNG cylinders in the passenger coach exploded. SP Altaf said, however, that their investigation showed that the bus had no CNG cylinders. He suspects that the fire broke out due to some chemicals present in the tanker, adding that nothing could be confirmed till the investigation was complete.

Transport me

The transport department has written a letter to the transporters organisations and has given them a month's deadline to take some action.

"After February 11, those vehicles which do not have fitness certificates, permits or emergency exits and tools will be impounded while their drivers and owners will be arrested," said Sindh Transport Minister Mumtaz Jakhrani. "It is the job of the traffic police to fine these buses and their drivers." He added that if the traffic and motorway police are found to be taking bribes, he would complain to the IG Sindh, IG Motorway and the chief minister of Sindh. "I have no strength to stand on the road and check each and every vehicle," he said. "It is a duty of the traffic or motorway police. I can only issue instructions."

DIG Traffic Dr Ameer Shaikh was not available for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.