An elderly man was killed on Saturday night after being run over by a water tanker, according to police and rescue officials, as accidents involving heavy vehicles continue to rise in Karachi.

The city has lately witnessed a rise in traffic accidents, especially involving heavy vehicles, including dumpers and water tankers, which killed nearly 500 people and injured 4,879 were in 2024, according to hospital data.

Speaking to Dawn.com today, Saeedabad police Station House Officer (SHO) Idris Bangash said, “The driver was reversing the water tanker in Qila Altaf, Sector 8-E, when he ran over the old man sitting there.”

The man identified as Arif Khan, 75, died on the spot.

SHO said that the body was moved to the Civil Hospital Karachi for legal formalities, adding that the driver managed to escape from the spot, leaving behind the tanker.

The accident angered people in the area who damaged the tanker, but, with some difficulty, the police dispersed them, taking custody of the tanker.

Later on, some people travelling in two to three vehicles attacked the police with stones, which caused injuries to three policemen.

“The police resorted to a baton charge and dispersed the mob”, the SHO said.

In pursuance of the continued efforts of the provincial government to control the menace of accidents in Karachi, the city administration on Thursday extended the complete ban imposed on heavy vehicles in the city during daytime for another two months.

A total of nine dumpers and water tankers were set on fire by angry mobs last week night near the main road leading to 4-K Chowrangi after a heavy vehicle hit a bike rider, injuring him in the North Karachi area.

On Saturday, a police official said a trailer killed two men riding a motorcycle on Sharea Liaquat, while a trailer truck ran over a young man on the Superhighway (Motorway) on Thursday.