DADU: Ten members of a family, including four women and five children, were killed and 40 others injured in an accident on the Jamshoro-Sehwan highway near Sann town in Jamshoro district early in the morning on Sunday.

According to sources, a pick-up going from Sachal village to Larkana was hit by two passenger coaches coming from the opposite direction.

The cause of the accident, which occurred some 50 kilometres from Sehwan city, is said to be speeding.

They said one of the coaches might have been overtaking the other on the single road when both hit the pick-up coming from the opposite direction. The pick-up was badly damaged and all the 10 people travelling in it died on the spot, they added.

The sources said the drivers of both coaches fled after the accident.

The deceased belonged to one Jamshaid Shaikh family, hailing from Noor Mohammad Shaikh village in Qambar-Shahdadkot district.

They were identified as Jamshaid (driver of the pick-up), Reshma, Saira, Saima, Kamil, Ahmed, Jamil, Iqra, Ajwa and Khushboo.

The bodies and the injured were taken to a hospital in Sann town. The bodies were later sent to the victims’ village.

Jamshoro SSP Syed Irfan Bahadur and Deputy Com­missioner Fareeduddin Mustafa reached the spot after receiving information about the accident and supervised rescue work.

SSP Bahadur said the two coaches and the damaged pick-up had been impoun­ded by the police.

DC Mustafa said in a press note that the accident had occurred due to the negligence of the drivers. He said that soon after receiving information about the accident he had declared emergency in hospitals of the area.

According to an injured passenger who was in one of the coaches, rescue teams and ambulances came very late.

He said that the bodies had been pulled out of the pick-up’s wreckage after about half-an-hour efforts by the passengers of the two coaches and people from nearby villages.

He said that darkness and cold weather early in the morning also hindered the rescue work.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2017