January 24, 2007	Wednesday	Muharram 04, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 23: Five men and a woman were killed and 13 other people were injured when a passenger wagon rammed into a trailer on Grand Trunk Road near Sihala on Tuesday, police said.

The speeding wagon (AJKE-8475) was going from Chakwal to Islamabad when it smashed into the trailer (JU-8657) parked on the roadside close to Rawat checkpost.

Five of the passengers died on the spot. One passenger died of injuries at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), police and hospital sources told Dawn.

The local people shifted the wounded persons to different hospitals. Five of the injured were admitted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and eight to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Rawalpindi where two of them were stated to be in a critical condition.

The driver fled from the scene and is yet to be arrested by the police.

The dead were identified as Muhammad Bashir, resident of Ibrahimabad, Dhudiyal; Naeem Ahmed, resident of Rawalpindi; Munir Ahmed, resident of Sarpass Chowk, Chakwal; Atif Aftab, Muhammad Ikhlaq, residents of Sukho, Gujar Khan; and Faisal Mehmood, resident of Mona, Chakwal District.

The injured were identified as Iftikhar Ahmed, Muhammad Afzal, Sajid, Zahid Ali, Javed Ali, Muhammad Imtiaz, Ahmed Khan, Khalid Mehmood, Tahir Naqash, Ms Afsar Jan, Muhammad Rafiq, Asif Mehmood and Bashir.

It may be mentioned here that heavy traffic plies on one side of the main GT Road as the other side has been dug up for dualisation work for the last two years. The commuters are facing great hardship and danger on this busy highway as the pace of work is very slow.

MAN KILLED: Meanwhile, a bicycle rider died after being hit by a speeding car in the jurisdiction of the Bhara Kahu police on Monday.

The police said Ibrar Hussain was on way to home when the car (RIP-2726), driven by Muhammad Rizwan, hit his bicycle. He sustained injuries and died later.