THATTA, Nov 13: Twenty-five people were killed and 17 others injured, eight of them critically, when a bus hit a van, throwing it into a roadside ditch near the Wali Mohammad Rind village on the National Highway here on Sunday evening, witnesses said,

They said the accident took place between Gujjo and Thatta when the bus driver trying to overtake the van lost control on the steering wheel and rammed into it. The Badin-bound van fell into the ditch only to be crushed by the bus.

All 22 passengers in the van, including its driver and cleaner, were killed instantly. Three people on the bus that was going to Shah Aqeeq were also killed. Two bodies became entangled under the bus tyres and a crane was used to retrieve them.

Most of the deceased belonged to the Badin district. The deceased included Vishnu, Abdul Ghaffar, Ghulam Mohammad Gadahi, Prem Chand, Imdad Ali Bhambhro (Digri, Mirpurkhas), Ms Hoor, Abdul Hafeez, Akbar Rind, Abbas Kalmati, Ramzan Joyo and Munawar Ali Channa.

The injured, three children and four women among them, were identified as Ali Akbar, Hussain Shah, Ismail, Abdul Ghafoor, Jeevan Kolhi, Sarwar, Hameed Umrani and Ahmed.

Some of the injured, including Ms Aisha, Aijaz and Ismail Noonari, were taken to Karachi for their serious condition.

DCO Thatta Mohammad Jaffar Abbasi, who monitored the rescue work, confirmed the causalities. Ayaz Ali Shah Shirazi, a PML-Q MNA, visited the hospital to oversee the treatment being provided to the injured.