Pakistan: A bus caught fire in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Sunday morning. 18 people died in this accident, while about 15 people were injured. Women and children are also included in the dead. The incident took place around 4:30 am in Pindi Bhattiyan town of Faisalabad Motorway, about 140 km from Lahore.
Here the bus collided with a pickup van. There were about 40 passengers on the bus, which was going from Karachi to Islamabad. According to the police, the drivers of both vehicles died of burns.
Faisalabad Motorway IG Sultan Khawaja said the bus hit a van carrying a fuel tank from behind in the Pindi Bhatian section. The death toll may rise further as the condition of some of the injured is said to be critical.
Another 16 people with burn injuries were taken to nearby hospitals. The passengers who managed to jump off the bus survived. The cause of the accident is not yet known.
The police have expressed apprehension that either the bus driver must have fallen asleep at the time of the accident or it is also possible that the accident happened due to the high speed.
IG said that if there was no fuel tank in the van, then both vehicles would not have caught fire. Those who lost their lives will be identified through DNA tests, after which the bodies will be handed over to their relatives.
Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident. The officers were instructed to give good treatment to the injured.
Road accidents happen every day in Pakistan. Earlier in July too, five people including a woman and two minors were killed when a bus overturned in the Fazilpur area of Rajanpur district of Punjab. In which 20 other people were injured.