RAWALPINDI:  Five Elite Force commandos, escorting the visiting Chinese foreign minister, sustained multiple bone fractures and injuries after their vehicle overturned on the Airport Road on Friday.

The Chinese delegation’s convoy was heading towards General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi after having a session with Pakistani leaders in Murree.

The Elite Force commando’s van AK-19, escorting the foreign delegation convoy from rare side, overturned after its driver failed to meet a sharp turn due to excessive speed.

As a result, five police commandos were trapped in the vehicle and later were pulled out by their colleagues and shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital where their condition was stated to be stable.

The injured policemen were identified as Jamil Ahmed, Waheed Ahmed, Mohammad Shoaib, Fazal and Amir Shahzad. However, the VVIP convoy continued its journey and reached its destination safely.    

Police said the accident occurred due to excessive speed as the police driver lost control over the vehicle.

Tight security had been put in place for the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as more than 250 police personnel, led by senior superintendent of police VVIP security wing, SP Potohar, SP security and three DSPs were deployed on his security.

Published in Dawn February 14th , 2015

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