DADU: A young woman died and 29 members of her extended family, majority among them women and children, suffered serious injuries when their van, which was carrying them to annual fair at the shrine of a local saint, Gaji Shah, overturned on the Indus Highway near Haidar Rind village on Sunday.

The tragedy left the 20-year-old Sakina Chandio dead and 29 of her relatives seriously injured some of whom were later identified as Shahida, Wahida, Baggi, children Anita, Rizwan and Marvi, 14-year-old Shahid, Ghulam Rasool Chandio, Sajida, Shumaila, Shamshad, Rahman, Zahida, Ashraf, Shahzad and Soni.

The injured were taken to Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences in Sehwan where the facility’s director, Dr Moinuddin Siddiqui, declared an emergency to manage the large number of patients. One of the injured Nizam Chandio, 20, was reported to be in critical condition.Witnesses said the victims, residents of Khan Mohammad Chandio village in Sakrand, were going local saint Gaji Shah’s fair when the driver lost control over the vehicle due to high speed, causing the vehicle to overturn.

Police filed an initial report on the accident and started investigation.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2025