SADIQABAD/ BAHAWALPUR, Dec 28: Twenty-six people, including a bride, were killed and over 70 injured when two speeding buses, in a bid to overtake the other, collided head-on with a truck near Khanpur in Rahimyar Khan district on Saturday.

Carrying marriage parties of two brothers, the buses were on return journey from Hyderabad to Dera Masti in Ahmedpur East.

The accident took place near Sehja, a small town on Bahawalpur-Rahimyar Khan road, on a blind turn. This 200-km-long busy track is notorious for fatal accidents because of dozens of blind turns and, of course, reckless driving.

Twenty-five passengers, including 10 women and eight children, died on the spot. Their bodies were taken to the Khanpur tehsil headquarters hospital for identification.

Most of the injured were taken to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital (SZH), Rahimyar Khan. One of them, identified as Nisar, died before getting any medical aid. Ten of the injured were stated to be critical.

Mohammad Abid, the bridegroom of the deceased Shabana and his brother Yusaf, also a bridegroom, were safe. The latter’s bride was also among the injured.

Our Multan Correspondent adds: Dr Agha of the Khanpur tehsil headquarters hospital identified the dead as Shabana (bride), Rukhsana, Khalida, Shameem, Anna, Sadia, Haider, Mohammad Ibraheem, Amina Begum, Sehat Khan, Salma, Mukhtar Husain Shah, Iqbal Bibi, Shahid, Hazoor Bakhsh, Sabir, Shahro, Azizur Rehman, Raja, Nasir s/o Abdul Sattar, Nasir s/o Mohammad Sharif, Ghulam Mustafa, a minor son of Ghulam Ali, a minor son of Lal Din and a minor daughter of Nathu. One of the deceased could not be identified till the filing of this report. His age was between 60 and 65.

Dr Agha said that some 47 injured were brought to the Khanpur hospital after the fatal accident. Of them, 20 succumbed to their injuries while 19 were referred to the SZH due to their critical condition.

They included Shameem Mai, Shaukat Ali, Ghulam Fatima, Shamshad, Aqeel Ahmed, Sajawal, Danish, Dildar Ahmed, Sajjad Ahmed, Ghulam Rasool, Zafar Sheikh, Ghaffar Ahmed, Mushtaq and Rabia.

He said the remaining eight were discharged after being administered first aid.

Twenty of the injured were treated at the Sehja rural health centre.

When contacted, SZH’s acting board of governor chairman Chaudhry Rasheed said the condition of all the injured brought to his hospital was now out of danger.

He said some 43 injured were brought to the SZH. Of them, 16 had been discharged after first aid while 27 were under treatment.

It is further learnt that drivers of all the three ill-fated vehicles were among the dead.

COMPENSATION: Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi expressed grief over the tragic accident and announced an assistance of Rs100,000 for each dead and Rs50,000 for each injured. He also ordered an inquiry into the causes of the crash.