PAKPATTAN, Pakistan — At least 11 people were killed and 33 others injured on Thursday night when a passenger bus collided with a truck on Depalpur Road near Pakpattan in Punjab province, Rescue 1122 said.
The bus was travelling from Multan to Kasur when it hit a truck coming from the opposite direction near the 17 SP stop, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Umair Iqbal said. The truck was a 10-wheeler trailer loaded with potatoes. The bus overturned in the crash, trapping passengers inside.
Among the dead were two uniformed men: Ali Hasnain of the Patrolling Police and Zahid Imam of the Para Force, the Express Tribune reported.
Rescue teams used cranes and other heavy machinery to free people trapped in the wreckage. The operation went on for about three hours, and rescue work was still under way late on Thursday night.
Injured taken to Pakpattan hospital
The dead and injured were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital in Pakpattan. Deputy Commissioner Asif Raza declared an emergency at the hospital and called in extra doctors and medical staff. District Police Officer Javed Iqbal also reached the crash site to oversee the response. Of the injured, 25 were admitted to the district hospital and eight people with minor injuries were treated and released, Dawn reported.
Chief minister seeks report
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the deaths, sought a report on the collision and directed officials to give the injured the best possible treatment. She also offered condolences to the families of the two uniformed men. President Asif Ali Zardari and National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also expressed condolences and prayed for the recovery of the injured.
Cause not yet known
Neither Rescue 1122 nor the district administration has said what caused the collision, and no investigation findings have been released. Officials have not said whether speed, overtaking, driver fatigue or a mechanical fault played any part.
Road crashes kill large numbers of people in Punjab every month. Rescue 1122 recorded 44,797 road accidents across the province in October alone, with 464 people killed, the Express Tribune reported, citing the emergency service’s data. Thursday’s crash was the second in just over two weeks to kill at least 10 bus passengers in Punjab, after a bus overturned on the Indus Highway near Rajanpur on October 21.
Reporting by Zark News from Associated Press, Express Tribune, Pakistan Today, Dawn and Dunya News reports. Casualty figures are those given by Rescue 1122 and may be updated.
