ISLAMABAD: At least 12 people were killed and six others injured in a road accident at Islamabad Toll Plaza on Monday.

The National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) said the injured were in critical condition and kept in the burns unit of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

A crowded Rawalpindi-bound passenger wagon coming from Sargodha rammed into a booth of the toll plaza and overturned due to speeding, said the police.

The fuel tank of the wagon exploded and the vehicle caught fire. The passengers and driver got trapped inside.

Rescue personnel reached the spot and extinguished the flames and retrieved the victims.

Eight of the passengers were found dead while the others were taken to hospital where four of them died later.

Some of the deceased were identified as Fateh Mohammad, Mohammad Ashraf, Zulfiqar, Mohammad Waqas Haider, Masqsooda Begum and two children - Fizza and Saba.

The injured were: Noreen Asif, 24, Mohammad Imran, 21, Rehan Amjid, 9, Afzal Masih, 25, Imran Pervez, 30, and Saad Amini, 21.

Deputy Inspector General of NHMP Ashfaq Ahmed in a statement said 17 passengers, including women and children, were traveling in the wagon.

Apparently, the driver fell asleep due to which the vehicle rammed into the toll booth.

He said the condition of the injured was critical as they had suffered serious burn injuries and fractures.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat visited Pims where the bodies and the injured had been brought.

He said six injured were kept in the intensive care unit (ICU) and were in an extremely critical condition.

“Unfortunately, 12 people have lost their lives in the accident,” he added.

He said there were 18 passengers in the vehicle. The driver identified as Aqeel Naqvi was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Rawalpindi.

The DC said the cause of the accident was yet to be established but the speed of the vehicle was 130 kilometres per hour when it met with the accident.

The DC said a request would be made to the NHMP to hold an inquiry into the accident.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2019