KARACHI: An angry mob set a water tanker on fire after the driver of the heavy vehicle ran over and killed a motorcyclist in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on Saturday evening, according to police and rescue officials.

Speaking to Dawn, Sharea Faisal Station House Officer (SHO) Imtiaz Husain Shah said that a 40-year-old man was riding a motorbike when a reckless water tanker driver ran him over and crushed him in Block-18 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

He said that the driver managed to flee from the scene, leaving behind his heavy vehicle. An angry mob then torched the water tanker, he added.

Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan said the law enforcement officials rushed the spot and controlled the situation. However, the front part of the tanker had turned into ashes by then.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for legal formalities.

Separately, traffic accidents in the metropolis also claimed the lives of two women, with two heavy vehicle drivers arrested, police officials said.

A woman was killed and her husband was injured when a bus hit a motorcycle near People’s Chowrangi on Saturday afternoon. Jamshed Quarters SHO Mohammad Irfan Meo said the couple was riding the motorcycle when a bus, which was plying on a route from Lyari to Malir, hit them.

They sustained critical injuries and were taken to a hospital, where 25-year-old Saima was pronounced dead while her husband, 40-year-old Imran Ghaffar, was admitted for treatment.

The bus driver, identified as Lal Bux, was arrested and the vehicle was impounded.

In the second accident, a young woman was killed on the main Mauripur Road when a truck hit her.

Kalri SHO Majid Alvi said an unidentified woman in her mid-20s was crossing the road near People’s Football Stadium in Lyari when a loaded Mazda truck hit her.

She suffered critical injuries and was taken to Civil Hospital Karachi, where she was pronounced dead.

The truck driver, Ajiz Khan, was arrested and the heavy vehicle impounded by the police, said the SHO.

“The driver attempted to avoid the fallen pedestrian by applying brakes; however, despite these efforts, the mini truck ran over the pedestrian’s head, resulting in her death at the scene,” read a statement issued by Traffic District West Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Azam Jamali.

Over the past year, the city has witnessed a rise in traffic accidents, especially involving heavy vehicles such as dumper trucks and water tankers.

On Thursday, a motorcyclist was run over and killed by a fast-moving truck in the Quaidabad area, where a day earlier, a man was run over by a fast-moving water tanker.

On Tuesday, a 10-year-old boy and a labourer died in separate incidents due to being hit by trucks.

On Monday night, two young sisters were killed by an oil tanker approaching from behind, after the bike they were on slipped and caused them to fall on the road.