Value of lives: Sindh’s deadly highway claims 10 more lives

Bus caught fire but CNG cylinders remained intact; authorities blame poorly maintained road.

HYDERABAD:

Sindh's highways have claimed a total of 72 lives since the beginning of this year, including 10 new ones in the early hours of Monday.

A passenger bus with 19 people on board was on its way from Hyderabad to Karachi when its front tyre burst, near Nooriabad, and it flipped over. The vehicle caught fire immediately and claimed the lives of 10 passengers including a woman and two children. Nine other passengers were injured in the accident, according to Edhi's regional in-charge Mairaj. Jamshoro SSP Naeem Shaikh confirmed that 10 passengers were dead when they are pulled out of the van.

"The officials have refused to hand over the body without report of the DNA test," said Rehman Qureshi, brother of a 32-year-old victim, Irfan Qureshi. Rehman said his brother, a resident of Pakka Qila, worked as a goldsmith and had married only seven months ago. Survivor Ambreen, who was brought to Hyderabad after first-aid treatment in Karachi, kept sobbing for hours at Civil hospital over the death of her husband.

The absence of a trauma centre on the highway and delayed fire fighting reduced the survival chances of those trapped in the van. All the injured helped themselves out of the van by breaking the windows, pointed out Edhi volunteers and a witness, Alam Palari. The injured people had to travel for longer than an hour to be transported to the nearest government hospitals.

It took more than two hours to extinguish the fire and pull out the burnt bodies, Palari told The Express Tribune over the phone. "They were so badly burnt that one could see their bones and flesh in the darkness of the night," he said.

Investigations

The police have, however, yet to lodge the FIR at the Nooriabad police station. According to the initial report prepared by the police and transport authorities, the front right tyre of the van, which was moving at around 100 kilometres per hour, burst and it overturned into a ditch as the driver lost control. "We still don't know whether it caught fire from the CNG cylinders or the fuel tank," said Sheraz Shah, the regional transport director. "The nozzles of two cylinders broke open as a result of the accident and it may have fuelled the fire."

The van had four CNG cylinders installed in it and, strangely, all of them were intact, said Shah. "This was a new vehicle that was issued a route permit earlier this month. Its fitness and permits were valid," he pointed out. "The cylinders were manufactured in 2013 with a five-year warranty."

The Sindh Bus Owners Association leader, Haji Mir Afzal Khan, said the van was registered under the name of Firdous Khan. But its actual owner was a Karachi-based transporter Shafi Muhammad Pathan. "I believe the accident was neither the driver's mistake nor any dishonesty on part of the owner." He did feel the need to blame the poor condition of road surfaces on the highways. "The bumps and patches often cause to accidents," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2015.