MARDAN: Sixteen people were killed, and seven others were injured after a Swat-bound passenger coach collided with a bus parked by the roadside of the Swat Motorway in Khoro Kotay Saeedabad area here on Monday, Rescue 1122 officials said.

Rescue 1122 public relations officer Syed Abbas Shah confirmed the number of casualties. According to the motorway police, the passenger coach crashed into a bus that was parked by the roadside after developing a mechanical fault.

The motorway police, Rescue 1122 officials and residents of nearby areas rushed to the spot after the incident was reported and shifted the deceased and the injured to Mardan Medical Complex Hospital.

Hospital and Rescue 1122 officials said that the identities of the deceased and the injured persons had yet to be ascertained.

However, they said that the majority of the victims hailed from Dir and Bajaur, and were headed home for the Eid holidays.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan expressed grief at the incident. He said that the injured were being provided with the best medical facilities.

Meanwhile, at least 12 people, mostly labourers returning home for Eidul Azha, who were killed in a road accident on the Swat Expressway, were laid to rest in Lower and Upper Dir districts on Monday.

Residents said that five of the deceased belonged to the Luqman Banda area of Lower Dir, including four members of the same family.

Officials said 60-year-old Musa Mohammad lost his two sons, Sherbaz and Syed Nawab, and a grandson, Abdul Rahim, in the accident. Their neighbour, Fazal Subhan, also died in the mishap.

Rescue officials said seven other victims belonged to the Upper Dir district.

They were identified as Adnan Khan, Abidullah, Rafiq Khan, Inamullah, Zaheenullah, Dilawar Khan and Yaseen.

Several passengers from both districts also sustained injuries and were shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment, officials added.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2026