ABBOTTABAD/CHARSADDA: Three schoolchildren were killed and 16 others injured when a school van skidded off the road and plunged into a deep ditch in Sherwan area of Abbottabad on Thursday.

The deceased girl students were identified as eight-year-old Fatima, daughter of Maqsood; 12-year-old Ahtar Bibi, daughter of Tariq; and seven-year-old Areeba, daughter of Wasim.

The injured were taken to the DHQ hospital, Abbottabad, from where four were referred to Ayub Medical Complex in a precarious condition. Police said that the van carrying 20 children of Knowledge Public School, Pind Kargo Khan, back home from the school at Gali Jarl Road met the accident at Sherwan area.

Additional SP Arif Javed supervised the rescue operation at the site of accident.

Meanwhile, acting governor Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani expressed his profound sorrow over the tragic accident of the school van in Abbottabad.

In a message, the governor condoled with the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of the injured children.

In Charsadda, two persons were killed and four others injured when a passenger coach overturned after hitting another coach due to speeding here on Thursday.

According to police, one coach (EA 1145) was on way to Peshawar from Tangi tehsil when it hit another vehicle during overtaking.

As a result, two passengers identified as Fayyaz and Abbas, residents of Utmanzai, were killed on the spot, while four others, including driver Ali Khan, Zeshan, Jalal and Hidayat, were injured. The injured were taken to a hospital. The police have registered a case against drivers of the coaches.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2022