Reckless and negligent driving claimed the lives of five people on Wednesday in separate road accidents across Karachi, according to police and rescue officials.

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 in 2024, according to hospital data.

Paposh Nagar Station House Officer (SHO) Shaukat Awan said that two boys were killed after a water tanker hit them near Abdullah College.

“The victims were riding a motorcycle and were on their way towards Banaras Chowk when the tanker descending from the North Nazimabad bridge hit them,” Awan said.

The accident resulted in the death of a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old, he said, adding that the bodies were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for legal formalities.

He added that the incident enraged passersby, who caught the driver and beat him.

“They attempted to torch the heavy vehicle, but police prevented them,” he said, adding that the driver was arrested and the tanker had been impounded.

Separately, a man was killed and another person was injured when a bus hit them in the city’s Korangi area, according to Sharafi Goth SHO Raja Khalid.

“The victims were riding a motorcycle when a bus belonging to a private company ran them over, resulting in the instant death of one motorcyclist and injuries to the other.

Khalid said, “The driver has been arrested and the vehicle is impounded, while the dead body and the injured person have been moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.”

In another incident, Gadap City police SHO Sarfraz Jatoi said, “A young man was killed while his wife was injured in an accident on the Superhighway.

“The couple was travelling on a motorbike when an unknown vehicle hit them near Kathore. The injured couple was taken to a nearby private hospital, where the husband was pronounced dead.”

He added that the wife sustained minor injuries.

The relatives told the police that they did not want any legal proceedings, he added.

Meanwhile, a policeman was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Baldia, according to Saeedabad SHO Pervez Solangi.

“The policeman was on his way to work when an unknown vehicle hit him, killing him on the spot. The body was taken to the Civil Hospital,” SHO Solangi said.

Last month, the police said that a woman was killed and her husband injured when a water tanker hit their motorcycle and ran them over in Korangi, prompting an angry mob to set the water tanker on fire.

In April, an employee of the Pakistan Navy was killed while another was injured in Karachi’s Baldia after a 10-wheeler trailer hit them, police said.