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TAXILA / DADU: At least 20 people, including eight members of the same family, were killed and over 30 others injured in two separate road accidents, on Monday.
In the first incident, an Islamabad-bound bus from Bahawalpur overturned on the Hakla-D.I Khan Motorway (M-14) near Fatehjang, after the driver allegedly dozed off, witnesses said.
Emergency teams, including eight Rescue 1122 vehicles, and Motorway Police personnel, arrived at the scene and shifted the injured to Fatehjang Tehsil Headquarters Hospital for first aid. Later, the injured were transported to the district headquarters hospital and Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi.
According to a Motorway Police spokesperson, heavy machinery had to be called in to rescue the passengers trapped in the bus.
Bus skids off motorway near Fatehjang; eight members of a family killed in collision between van and trailer near Moro
Samiullah, a survivor of the accident, told reporters that the bus was heading towards Islamabad amid dense fog when, around 8am, the driver dozed off, causing the bus to skid off the road and overturn.
Hospital sources identified some of the deceased as Nazia, Fizza Imtiaz, Syed Iqra Fatima, Nazia Ubaid, Meharunisa, Asad Razzaq, Syed Naseem and Mohammad Basheer, while some of the other bodies could not be identified.
The second incident took place in Sindh, when a passenger van carrying a wedding party was rammed by a trailer on the National Highway near Moro.
The victims, who were returning from a wedding in Hyderabad, were members of the family of Dr Fareel Taggar, a well-known physician from Naushehro Feroze.
Police said that Abdul Jabbar Taggar, son of Dr Fareel, was returning to his hometown when the accident occurred.
The trailer driver managed to flee the scene, police said.
The deceased were identified as Ali Mohammad Taggar, Tooti, Zaheer Taggar, Shareefa, Mola Bakhsh Taggar, his son Faisal, granddaughter Farhana, and Almas.
The injured included Abdul Sattar, Amjad Ali, Khalida, Rizwana, Naveeda, Sanaullah, Nusrat, Noor Ahmed, Nasreen, Bilqees, Sana, Shahnaz, Farzana, Rehana and Laila.
One of the injured victims, a young girl, died of her injuries in a hospital in Karachi.
According to sources at Moro Hospital, 10 of the injured were in critical condition and were transferred to Nawabshah Hospital for treatment. Among the injured, eight were later transferred from Nawabshah to Karachi for better medical care.
Deputy Commissioner Arsalan Saleem visited the Moro hospital and urged doctors to provide all necessary medical care to the victims. He expressed his condolences over the tragic incident.
Later, the bodies of the deceased were transported to their native village, where funeral prayers were held. A large number of people, including political leaders, social activists, businessmen and lawyers, attended the funeral. The deceased were then laid to rest in their ancestral graveyard.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Home Minister Sindh Ziaul Hasan Lanjar also offered their condolences to the grieving family.
Zulfiqar Memon in Nawabshah also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2024
