VEHARI: Five people were killed and 47 others injured early on Wednesday when a Lahore-to-Dera Ghazi Khan bus carrying people to the Sakhi Sarwar shrine overturned on Dewan Sahib Road in Burewala, 50km from here.

Police said the bus carrying 72 devotees, of Chak 62-WB in Manga Mandi, Lahore, overturned near Chak 32-EB bridge because of speeding. The accident left five people dead and 47 others injured. The injured were shifted to the Sahoka Rural Health Centre (RHC) and Burewala Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital. Of them 20 were referred to Lahore hospitals because of their life-threatening injuries.

Three people died on the spot while two others died at the Sahoka RHC.

The deceased were identified as Sakina, Shehnaz, Pervaiz, Munir and Tufail, all residents of Chak 62-WB, Manga Mandi.

The injured include Parveen, Najma, Bushra, Rizwana, Maqboola, Sonia, Fozia, Zamurd, Zahida, Rabia, Naseem, Shahnaz, Safia, Zarina, Alina, Nabila, Ishrat, Safia, Iqbal, Hamid, Khalid, Nisar, Shafi ,Waqar, Amanat, Atta, Ashraf, Liaqat, Ali Hasan, Zubair, Siddique Shakil, Asif, Husnain, Mukhtar, Ali Raza, Waqas Zulqarnain, Irfan, Siddique, Amir, Akram, Abbas, Asghar, Ghulam Rasool, Faroque, Ali Mohammad Shakil and one unidentified woman.

Rescue 1122 media coordinator Waqas Anwar said 72 devotees were traveling in the bus. He said the rescuers took 40 minutes to complete the operation. Burewala THQ hospital medical superintendent Dr Akram told Dawn that 20 injured were referred to Lahore, while the remaining were still in the THQ hospital and the Sahoka RHC.

Sahoka Station House Officer Zulfiqar Olakh said they had registered a case against the driver under sections 320 and 337-G of the Pakistan Penal Code. He said the accident occurred due to speeding as the accident spot is a sharp curve. The driver is at large.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2015

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