SARGODHA: Six schoolgirls and a rickshaw driver were killed while two other girls were seriously injured when a bus knocked down the three-wheeler near Jahanabad in Bhakkar on Saturday.

Police said the students were returning after appearing in their class IX examination when the bus rammed into their rickshaw on Jhang-Bhakkar Road.

Iqra Rafiq, Sawera Shafique, Iffat Ahmad, Mehrin Yaqoob, Marryam Ashraf, Sobia and rickshaw driver Arshad died on the spot.

Sana Parveen and Sania Batool were injured and rushed to the Bhakkar District Headquarters Hospital where their condition was said to be critical.

After the accident, an angry mob set the bus ablaze and blocked the road for five hours. Traders shut their shops to mourn the incident.

AP news agency quoted senior officer Shahista Nadeem as saying that protesters partly burned the bus before police could arrive.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2019