GUJRAT, Nov 16: Traffic remained suspended for several hours on the Wazirabad Road when an old bridge over Palkhu Nullah caved in on Thursday evening. Luckily, at the time of the collapse, no vehicle was crossing the otherwise busy bridge built by the British in 1922. Eyewitnesses claimed that a couple of drivers managed to halt their vehicles a few feet away.

A resident of Wazirabad told Dawn by telephone that Highways department had not paid any attention to the bridge maintenance since long.

The traffic police reached the spot and diverted the traffic towards by-pass from where vehicles could reach Wazirabad by using a spur-cum-road constructed along the Palkhu.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Highways department said the cave-in of some concrete supports had caused the ‘partial’ collapse.

KILLED: A passenger was killed and nine others sustained injuries on Friday in an accident on the GT Road.

A speeding bus (NWFP-1323) hit a wagon (AJKE-4864) from the rear as a result of which 10 wagon passengers sustained injuries. They were taken to a nearby hospital where Nazak expired. The injured were identified as Zaman, Arshad, Nazir, Karam Hussain, Imtiaz, Ayub, Afzal, Maqsood Ahmad and Khalida Parveen.