By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Seventeen religious pilgrims perished and 41 were injured in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday when their truck veered off the road and into a ditch.
The accident occurred around 10 p.m. in the Hub district of Balochistan province, nearly 300 kilometers from the provincial capital of Quetta. The pilgrims were traveling from Sindh’s Thatha district to the Shah Noorani shrine in Khuzdar.
“The truck was overspeeding and it went out of the driver’s control while negotiating a turn and fell into a ravine in a mountainous town as they approached the shrine,” witnesses said.
Noorani, a Sufi saint, is believed to have belonged to the 12th or 13th century, with locals saying his teachings contributed significantly to the spread of Islam in the area.
Abdul Waheed Baloch, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Dureji in the Hub district, confirmed the casualties to reporters. “17 pilgrims were killed in the fatal accident and 41 injured,” Baloch said. The injured were initially taken to Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub city, with most being later transferred to Karachi for better medical care.
“The Balochistan government contacted the Sindh administration for better medical treatment of the injured while the bodies of the pilgrims were being shifted to their native villages,” Balochistan’s provincial authority informed in a statement.
The driver, reportedly inexperienced and unfamiliar with the mountainous route to the shrine, was arrested for interrogation.
“He was traveling to Balochistan for the first time and didn’t know the routes and curves leading to the shrine,” Baloch said, noting that the driver had attempted to save himself by jumping out of the truck.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the traffic accident, praying for those who lost their lives in it.
According to a statement issued by his office, he directed the authorities to provide all possible medical assistance to the injured.
Pakistan has a history of deadly road accidents, often attributed to poor road conditions, lax enforcement of traffic regulations, and inadequate driver training. This latest incident echoes a January 2023 tragedy in which 41 people died when a bus fell into a ravine and caught fire in Balochistan.
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