LAHORE: Four people died and as many others injured when a truck allegedly associated with the Orange Line Metro Train project collided with a rickshaw and two motorcycles on the GT Road at Daroghawala Chowk on Sunday.

The accident occurred near a construction site of the Orange Line Metro Train project.

As a result of the collision, both motorcyclists and rickshaw passengers fell on the road and suffered critical injuries.

The driver, after leaving the truck on the road, fled the scene.

On being informed of the accident, Rescue 1122 emergency service officials reached the spot and shifted the eight injured people to Services and Mayo hospitals where four of them were declared dead and as many others were said to be critical.

The deceased were identified as Shehzad Aurangzaib (40), his 12-year-old son Abdullah, Rasheed (25) and Mulazim Husain. The injured were identified as Muhammad Ahmed, son of Shehzad, Aamir Husain (35), Waseem (32) and a 24-year-old woman Shamim.

After the accident a large number of locals gathered on the spot, blocked the GT Road for traffic for more than an hour by burning used tyres. They raised slogans against the project administration and police.

Baghbanpura police, reaching the spot, impounded the truck and held negotiations with the protesters, assuring them of an early arrest of the driver.

After the assurance, the protesters cleared the road for traffic.

Later, police registered a case against the driver on the complaint of a brother of Shehzad Aurangzaib and were conducting raids to arrest him.

An eyewitness, Sohail Iqbal, of Mehmood Boti, told Dawn that he was standing in front of his shop at Daroghawala Chowk when the speeding truck first hit the motorcycles and then collided with the rickshaw.

He was of the view that the road accidents increased in the area due to the ongoing construction work on Orange Line project.

“Most of the time vehicles carrying material to the construction site seem to be in a hurry and ignore the safety of others using the road”.

He regretted the government had started the project without providing any alternate route for traffic.

“We are not only suffering business losses but also have to face various health issues because of the dust in the area. Most of the time, especially in the evening, people also have to face traffic blockage due to uneven roads”.

Cantonment Division Superintendent of Police (SP) Abadat Nisar told Dawn a case had been registered against the driver and efforts were being made to arrest him. The SP said the initial investigation revealed that the truck was not associated with the project.

An official of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), seeking anonymity, also claimed the truck belonged to a private company and was associated with work on an under construction plaza at Domoriya Pull.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the incident and ordered the authorities to arrest the truck driver immediately.

Following these four deaths, so far 18 people have died in incidents allegedly linked to the construction work on the project.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2016