CHAKWAL – At least nine people died and dozens sustained injuries on Sunday when a passenger bus travelling from Islamabad to Lahore veered into a ditch on the Motorway near Dhok Sial in Chakwal. The accident, which happened due to the negligence of the bus driver as per the police spokesperson, wounded 31 others who were shifted to Kallar Kahar Trauma Centre and DHQ hospital. Providing details of the accident, the deputy commissioner said all possible medical facilities were being provided to the wounded and those injured were shifted to the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi.
The bus driver, as per a police spokesperson, fled after the accident, and a search for him was underway. Furthermore, a case of the accident is being registered on the complaint of the Motorway Police, he added. Passenger bus accidents on highways across Pakistan are not uncommon and occur due to various reasons, ranging from drivers’ negligence to overspeeding and road and weather conditions.
Last Sunday, at least nine people died in multiple accidents in Sindh after two buses overturned in Thatta and Khairpur, injuring more than 40 passengers. The first incident occurred at Darsgah Muhammad Ali on the National Highway, where a bus carrying picnickers from Karachi to Keenjhar Late, overturned due to speeding. Six people were killed and more than 20 others were injured in the incident. Separately, a passenger bus travelling from Karachi to Mansehra overturned on the National Highway in Khairpur near Tando Masti area, killing three people and wounding over 25 others. On July 5, at least six people were killed and 18 others injured when a passenger bus collided with a trailer in Muzaffargarh’s Langar Sarai area. The passenger bus was travelling from Lahore to Ali Pur when it collided with a trailer, resulting in the death of six people.