Twin road accidents leave 36 dead, dozens injured

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Two road accidents in Pakistan on Sunday killed at least 36 people and injured 36 others, officials said.

A coaster traveling from Kahuta to Rawalpindi crashed into a ditch, killing 25 people and injuring one, due to brake failure, a rescue official said.

“The accident occurred on the Girari Bridge of Kahuta’s Azad Pattan Road,” the official added.

The interior ministry put the death toll at 29. The victims, including 20 men, four women, and a child, were taken to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Kahuta.

In a separate incident, a bus carrying pilgrims from Iran to Punjab overturned on the Makran coastal highway, killing at least 11 people and injuring 35, police said.

“A bus carrying pilgrims from Iran to Punjab, when it overturned near Buzzi Top as the driver lost control of the vehicle due to overspeeding on the Makran coastal highway,” a senior police official said.

Four passengers remain trapped inside the coach, and a crane has been called in for evacuation.

The dead and injured, from Lahore and Gujranwala, were taken to civil hospital. The army, Rescue 1122, and Edhi are conducting the rescue operation.

Five of the injured were treated at Jam Ghulam Qadir hospital in Hub before being sent to Karachi. One body was taken to the Rural Health Centre in Winder.

The accidents follow a bus crash in Iran’s Yazd city that killed 28 Pakistani pilgrims and injured 23 others earlier this week.