Helpless: Two killed as truck plunges into ravine

Locals protest apathy of police, Khanaspur hospital administration

ABBOTABAD: Two people, including the driver, were killed while another was critically injured when a loaded truck fell into a roadside gorge on Tuesday morning near Kooza Gali, some 39 kilometres from Abbottabad.

Eyewitnesses and police said a Khanaspur-bound truck, loaded with LPG cylinders, was coming from Rawalpindi with three persons on board. When the truck neared Kooza Gali, the driver lost control and the vehicle plunged into a deep ravine, killing the driver, Rehan, and Zafeer on the spot while Zeeshan, the substitute driver, suffered injuries.

The police did not show up and locals helped the injured man on their own. They took the bodies and the critically injured person to Khanaspur Civil Hospital from where the victim had to be shifted to Murree hospital. The Khanaspur hospital administration did not provide an ambulance and even staff was not present.

To protest against the apathy of the Khanaspur hospital administration and police, locals blocked the Abbottabad-Murree Road for over five hours. As a result, schoolchildren, employees of different departments and tourists using the route were left stranded. However, locals later agreed to call off the protest when police and health authorities assured them of legal action against the responsible officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2015.