12 killed, 24 injured in motorway accident

F.P. Report

CHAKWAL: At least 12 people — including women and children — were killed and 24 others sustained injuries after a passenger bus turned turtle on the Islamabad-Lahore motorway near Kallar Kahar.

According to motorway police, the passenger bus was heading to Lahore from Rawalpindi when it met with an accident near Kallar Kahar salt range. As per the preliminary reports, the accident occurred due to breaks failing, said the police. After being informed, police and Rescue 1122 officials rushed to the scene and shifted the bodies and the injured to the hospital.

“Three women and two children were among the dead,” said the police. A spokesperson of NHMP said that due to the accident, two lanes of Lahore-Islamabad Motorway were closed, while the third one was open for traffic.

DIG Motorway Police Muhammad Yusuf Malik and sector commander supervised the rescue operations at the spot. Later, the DIG visited Trauma centre Chakwal and inquired about the health of the injured, said the spokesperson. A CCTV footage of the incident shows a car coming from the opposite direction also overturned after being hit by the passenger bus. However, it could not be ascertained whether the people travelling in the car sustained injuries or not in the accident.