RAWALPINDI – At least 13 people, including five women died when a bus overturned on the Islamabad-Lahore Motorway near Kallar Kahar on Saturday.
Additionally, 31 individuals sustained injuries. This incident serves as a somber reminder of a previous tragedy that occurred in February, when a bus plunged into a ravine after colliding with two cars and a truck near Kallar Kahar. That unfortunate event claimed the lives of 14 members of a wedding party.
According to authorities, this recent accident was allegedly caused by a brake failure, leading the driver to lose control of the steering. The bus, en route to Jhang and identified as BBA452, veered off the road and overturned on the opposite track.
Rescue operations were promptly initiated by the police, who worked diligently to extricate the victims trapped within the wreckage. The injured were then transported to hospitals in Kallar Kahar and Rawalpindi after the bus was cut open. Among those harmed were three young girls. The bus, which originated from Rawalpindi, met with the accident while traversing the Salt Range.
The DIG (Motorway) Mohammad Yousaf Malik and the Kallar Kahar police sector commander arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, coordinating the ongoing rescue efforts. Initially, all the victims and survivors were taken to Kallar Kahar hospital, and subsequently, eight of the injured were transferred to a hospital in Rawalpindi.
The deceased have been identified as Arooj, Fatima, wife of M Raza, Rohan, Shan, Zaheer Fatima, Ameer Bibi, Imran, and Misha Bibi. Misha Bibi was from Rawalpindi, while the others were from Sahiwal and Jhang. Among the deceased were a woman and her two sons and daughter from Sahiwal. The police have managed to identify eight victims thus far, while the remaining victims’ identities are still being determined.
