KARACHI, Dec 2: A toddler was killed when a water tanker hit him in a Surjani Town area on Sunday, a few hours before an angry mob set a bus on fire near Numaish Chowrangi after it crushed to death a motorist.

One-and-a-half-year-old Mohammad Shahid was run over by the water tanker in Sector A-50 of Surjani Town while he was crawling about in front of his home in the afternoon. The tanker driver, Mohammad Aslam, tried to escape with the tanker, but the congested and narrow lanes of the area foiled his attempt.

“Area people brought the driver to the police station almost within half hour of the accident,” said an official at the Surjani police station. “We have not yet registered a case against him as we are waiting for the victim’s father, Noor-ul-Islam, to return from the child’s burial.”

In a road accident on M.A. Jinnah Road, a bus crashed into a 1,000-cc car carrying two friends, killing driver Mohammad Shahnawaz on the spot. His friend Bakhtawar was unhurt. The driver and conductor of the route 4-J bus, however, escaped.

Police and witnesses said the incident provoked area people, who first threw stones at the bus and later set it on fire.

The incident brought traffic to a standstill on one track of M. A. Jinnah Road leading from the Numaish roundabout to Tower. Witnesses said some people managed to put out the fire on their own before a fire tender reached the spot, almost 20 minutes after the accident.

“But the bus is almost completely burnt,” said a duty officer at the Brigade police station.

He said the deceased and his friend hailed from Thatta and police were looking for their families before registering a case.