At least 30 people were killed and over 40 were injured on Monday when a passenger bus collided with a truck on the Indus Highway in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, officials said.
The bus was travelling from Sialkot to Rajanpur.
Initially, Commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan Dr Irshad Ahmed confirmed that 29 people, including women and children, had died in the incident. He said rescue officials reached the site soon after the accident, adding that dead bodies and the injured where being transferred to the DHQ Teaching Hospital DG Khan.
Later, DHQ Teaching Hopsital Medical College principal Dr Asif Qureshi told Dawn.com that the death toll from the accident had risen to 30.
According to the hospital management, four of the injured were in a critical condition.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid expressed his sorrow over the deaths in the accident. He said the incident was nothing less than a “calamity” for people going back home for the upcoming Eidul Azha holiday.
“May God raise the dead to a higher level in Paradise [and] give the family the courage to bear the trauma,” he tweeted.
Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted:”When will we as a nation realise that violation of traffic rules is fatal? Public transport drivers are the trustees of people’s lives [and] they need to take further precaution.”
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the incident was very “sad and tragic”.
“The heart is aggrieved at the loss of precious lives in the accident. The Punjab government shares in the grief and pain of the victims’ families in this hour of grief,” she tweeted.
She said that an emergency had been imposed in the hospitals and the injured were being provided with the “best medical treatment facilities” with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar himself supervising all matters.
“Report of the incident has been sought. The perpetrators of negligence in the accident will be brought to justice.”
