Accident on Kathore Link Road: Had Steel Mills firefighters made it on time, 60 lives could have been saved

Traffic SSP submits inquiry report into tragic accident at SHC


Naeem Sahoutara October 07, 2015
Traffic SSP submits inquiry report into tragic accident at SHC. PHOTO: AFP

KARACHI: Over 60 passengers’ lives, who perished in bus-tanker collision on Kathore Link Road at the start of this year could have been saved had the nearby Pakistan Steel Mills firefighters reached them on time.

An inquiry into one of 2015's worst traffic accidents in the province revealed that the firefighters did not have permission from the chairperson of Pakistan Steel Mills to launch a timely rescue operation. The accident that claimed 60 lives took place off Super Highway on January 11.

The report was submitted by Malir Traffic SSP Muhammad Nouman Siddiqui in the Sindh High Court (SHC), where two petitions seeking a judicial inquiry into the tragedy are pending disposal.

Meanwhile, the SHC bench has yet to issue notices to the Pakistan Steel Mills to submit their comments on the contents of this report.

Contents of report

Siddiqui's report claimed that Ata Muhammad, son of Pathan Khan, was driving the ill-fated bus (licence plate JB-1158) belonging to the Shoaib Bus Service Company. The bus was owned by Muhammad Pervaiz.

At the time of the accident, about 63 passengers were travelling on the bus that had left Quaidabad at 11pm. "At that time, there was no enforcement officer(s) on duty as the Traffic Police duties are closed at 2300 hours," the report revealed.

The inquiry found that there is no evidence on the traffic police records to show whether or not the passengers were travelling on the rooftop. On the other hand, the condition of the Link Road, which is a single carriageway, was very poor with no streetlights and there were no settlements nearby, the report said.

The bus collided with a chemical tanker that was coming from the opposite direction. "Because of fire flames of chemical inside the tanker, the bus turned into ashes along with the passengers," the report stated. "There was only one automatic door in the bus, which unfortunately did not open as the driver of the bus fled away."

By the time the police and Edhi ambulances reached the site, they could only watch helplessly the aftermath of the inferno. "The police sought help from the Pakistan Steel Mills but no officer was on duty and the other staff replied that the tenders can only be moved after permission from the chairman of the Pakistan Steel Mills," stated the report. "On the other hand, the fire brigade in Karachi replied that they had dispatched fire tenders to the place of the accident."

Vehicles fitness

According to SSP Siddiqui, it was the responsibility of the driver and the owner of the vehicle to maintain its fitness and keep its route permit updated. "At the time of the accident, the driver and the owner knew that their fitness and route permits have already expired but, [despite] having knowledge of the risks involved, they decided to continue the journey," he said.

He maintained that the traffic DIG is the chief of Karachi traffic police and his responsibility includes enforcing traffic laws. However, driving licence DIG holds the authority to issue permits while fitness certificates for commercial vehicles have to be issued by the transport department, he added.


Price to pay


Unfit, unsafe buses in hot water

According to a report submitted by Malir Traffic SSP Muhammad Nouman Siddiqui, the traffic police have taken action against the following vehicles:

Offence                                                                         No of         Amount of

                                                                                    Vehicles             Fine

Buses plying on streets without fitness certificate      6,873              Rs13.8m

Vehicles with poor safety conditions                                                   26,863       Rs13.4m

Vehicles allowing passengers to ride on rooftop         21,233            Rs 21.2m

Vehicles plying on roads without, or with invalid route permit                  4,617         Rs9.2m

Drivers who drove rashly                      12,366     Rs12.4m


Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2015.

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