QUETTA - At least 41 people including children and women died when a passenger coach plunged into a ravine near Chanki Stop area of Lasbela on early Sunday morning. According to Levies sources, a Karachi-bound passenger coach from Quetta carrying 48 passengers was on its way when it plunged into a gorge and later it engulfed fire. As a result, 41 passengers, including women and children burnt to death on the spot. Bodies of the deceased were shifted to nearby hospital. Lasbela Assistant Commissioner Hamza Anjum, while confirming the incident, said that the vehicle, with nearly 48 passengers on board, was travelling from Quetta to Karachi. “Due to speeding, the coach crashed into the pillar of a bridge while taking a U-turn near Lasbela. The vehicle subsequently careened into a ravine and then caught fire,” he said. Anjum added that three people, including a child and a woman, have been rescued alive and moved to Civil Hospital, Lasbela. However, one of the injured succumbed to his wounds on the way to the hospital. The officer said the bodies had been moved to the Edhi mortuary in Karachi.
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He added that the bodies recovered from the wrecked bus were unidentifiable and DNA testing will be done for identification of the deceased. “It is feared that the driver may have fallen asleep,” Anjum said, also mentioning the possibility he had been speeding during the long-distance trip. “We will investigate the causes of the accident,” he said, adding that DNA tests would be used to determine the identity of the remains which had been “badly mutilated”. Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed their deep grief and sorrow over loss of lives in a tragic bus accident in Lasbela, Balochistan. The president and the prime minister expressed their condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the high ranks of the departed souls, President Secretariat and PM Office Media Wings said in separate press releases. They also prayed for the early recovery of the injured people. The president stressed upon taking of practical steps to avert the occurrence of such incidents in the future.
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The prime minister directed for provision of all available medical facilities to the injured ones. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo also expressed grief and sorrow over the lives lost in the accident. He directed the district administration to provide the injured passengers with health facilities and sought a report within 24 hours in this regard. He also expressed his sorrow over the losses of precious lives in the incident and the increase in traffic accidents on QuettaKarachi Highways. He also instructed the Commissioner Kalat Division to review the situation of the incident and to submit report of the accident in 24 hours. The CM also directed Commission Kalat Regional Transport Department to take measure to prevent road mishap which increased on National Highway Karachi-Quetta so that protection of passengers lives would be ensured during traveling. He said that strict action would be taken against over speeding vehicles and those drivers involved in violation of terrific saying that implementation of traffic rule was essential for preventing of accident on National Highway. Drivers and transport companies guilty of speeding should be punished and fined for interest of traffic. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah expressed grief over the tragedy and extended condolences to the bereaved families.
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Former President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also offered deepest and sincerest condolences over the Lasbela bus accident and the Kohat boat accident. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia on Sunday expressed deep sadness on the death and injury of a number of people as a result of a public transport bus accident in Balochistan’s Lasbela district. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement received here, offered the Kingdom’s sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of victims and the government and people of Pakistan on this sad incident. It also prayed for a speedy recovery of the injured.