MURREE/RAWALPINDI: As many as 10 people, including four women and two children, were killed and eight others injured in a traffic accident near Salgran near the hilly resort town of Murree on Sunday.
Rescue 1122 and police officials said a passenger van carrying 21 passengers was going to Rawalpindi from Aliot in Murree when it fell into a ravine.
The bodies and injured were shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). Police said most of the victims belonged to Aliot.
According to the injured passengers, the accident took place due to speeding on the slippery road as there was heavy rainfall at the time.
It may be noted that two buses also met with an accident at the same spot while trying to overtake each other a couple of weeks back. Over 24 people were killed and 20 others injured in that accident.
It may be noted that since January 2013, more than 130 people have been killed or injured in 11 traffic accidents on the same spot at Salgran.
After the two passenger buses met with the accident in January, the provincial government directed the district administration and the city traffic police Rawalpindi to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding the traffic arrangements to avoid such an accident in the hilly area.
The Salgran turn has been declared as a ‘black spot’ by rescue services since the two buses met with the tragic accident.
According to the provincial government’s instructions, the district administration had to establish joint checkposts comprising traffic police, Islamabad police and National Highway and Motorway Police officials to ensure the fitness of vehicles and check the licences of the drivers.
Speed checking cameras were also to be installed in the area and strict legal action was to be taken against the drivers violating traffic rules.
In addition, it was also decided to install ‘cat eyes’ on the portion of the road between Salgran and Tret in view of the road accidents.
The government had also directed to provide two heavy cranes and searchlights to the emergency services - Rescue 1122 - to handle any fatal traffic accident.
However, after the latest accident, the residents of the area have criticised the local administration and the traffic police for their failure to check speeding and overloading by the public transporters which they said was the major cause of the increasing fatal accidents in the mountainous area.
The rescuers said the victims trapped in the wreckage of the wagon were pulled out after cutting the body of the vehicle.
Tariq Manzoor, police sub-inspector who is leading the investigation into the road accident, told Dawn that the passenger wagon was crowded when it met with the accident.
He said wagon driver Abdul Malik was arrested after the accident and being investigated.
When a senior official of traffic department was asked whether the government directives had been implemented or not, he replied in the negative.
