Five cops died while two others suffered injuries when a police van was hit by another vehicle on the Quetta-Karachi highway near Balochistan’s Lasbela in the wee hours of Monday, officials said.

According to Lasbela Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Captain (r) Naveed Alam, the accident took place in the jurisdiction of the Uthal police station.

“The police van overturned after a vehicle crashed into it,” he said, adding that three policemen passed away on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital.

The SSP told Dawn.com that the bodies and wounded were initially moved to the District Headquarters Hospital, Uthal. “The injured policemen have now been shifted to Karachi for further treatment,” he said.

The official said the bodies of the slain cops had been dispatched to their hometowns. “A search operation is underway for the unidentified vehicle that hit the police van,” Alam added.

In a statement later in the day, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti expressed grief at the death of the policemen. He said the provincial government was standing with the bereaved families in this time of pain.

He also directed authorities to provide the best medical treatment to the injured cops and prayed for their speedy recovery.

Earlier this month, three people were killed and 12 injured after a fire broke out inside a passenger coach following a collision with a motorcycle.