NOWSHERA, Nov 30: The passengers of a bus that remained suspended from the Khairabad bridge here on the Indus river after being hit by another bus were rescued after almost an hour on Friday. However, some 15 passengers sustained injuries as result of the accident.
The bus, which was standing in the middle of the bridge after a crash with a speeding truck, was hit by another bus from behind. The bus remained precariously suspended from the bridge, however, the passengers, who were panicked to death, managed to get out of the vehicle.
The passenger bus (E-7639 Peshawar) was on its way from Rawalpindi to Peshawar. While passing through the Khairabad bridge, it collided with a truck in the morning fog. The truck driver managed to escape after the accident.
While the bus was standing in the middle of the bridge, another bus (PRS-4757) coming from behind hit it, dragging it to the brink of the bridge. It remained suspended there for more than half an hour, when officials of the district administration and a construction firm engaged in building a new bridge on the river, pulled it out with cranes.
As a result of the second smash, some 10 passengers and the driver of the bus received injuries. They were shifted to a nearby hospital.
Witnesses said that the both the accidents occurred due to fog and poor visibility in the morning hours.
The traffic on the G.T. Road remained suspended for almost four hours as result of the accidents.