20 February 2023 , 10:33
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A speeding passenger bus fell off a motorway and overturned in Pakistan, killing at least 14 passengers and injuring 63 others.
The crash happened overnight near the town of Kallar Kahar in Punjab province, a deputy commissioner, Quratulain Malik, said. She said all the dead and injured had been moved to a hospital.
The bus was reportedly carrying wedding guests from Islamabad to Lahore, says Dunya News and there were women and children were among the dead and the injured.
The motorway police evacuated the people trapped inside the bus, but they fear the death toll could rise with more stuck inside.
Officials said that 12 passengers passed away at the spot while two others died at the hospital (Newspaper) Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed his deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the crash and ordered authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment to the injured.
Last month, a passenger bus crashed into a pillar and fell off a bridge, catching fire and killing 40 people in the southern district of Lasbela.
Traffic accidents in Pakistan generally happen due to violations of traffic rules, resulting in the deaths of thousands every year.
Pakistan ranks first in the Asian region for most fatalities in road accidents in the world whereas Karachi ranks fourth among the cities having the highest traffic accident fatalities in the world, according to the country's road safety ambassador of the National Highway and Motorway Police.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Traffic accidents in Pakistan generally happen due to violations of traffic rules (NAofPakistan/Twitter)According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan’s roads in 2018.
Meanwhile, at least four people died on Friday when militants launched a deadly suicide attack on the police headquarters of Pakistan’s largest city.
Two police officers, a ranger and a civilian were killed and 14 others wounded in Karachi when two suicide bombers were killed and at least one blew himself up after entering the police building, officials said.
The bus fell into a ravine near Kallar Kahar in Chakwal District (Newspaper)The US condemned the attack, with state department spokesman Ned Price saying the US stood “firmly with the Pakistani people in the face of this terrorist attack. Violence is not the answer, and it must stop.”
And just two weeks ago, a suicide bomber disguised as a police officer killed 101 people at a mosque in the north-western city of Peshawar.
In November, the Pakistani Taliban ended a months-long ceasefire with the government which has led to an uptick in attacks by the the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban.