Initial reports suggest that the accident occurred due to alleged negligence and reckless driving by the van driver
At least 16 people were killed and seven others injured in a tragic road accident on Swat Expressway. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
At least 16 people were killed and six others injured in a road accident on the Swat Expressway on Monday after a van rammed into a parked bus, according to the highway police.
National Highways and Motorway Police officials said a passenger bus traveling from Karachi to Buner had been parked along the roadside on the Swat Expressway when a passenger van traveling from Rawalpindi to Dir rammed into it from behind. The impact was so violent that the van was badly crushed.
Rescue teams and highway police personnel reached the spot after receiving information about the accident and shifted the deceased and injured to Mardan Medical Complex. Authorities said the dead included men, women, the elderly and children.
Initial reports suggested that the accident occurred due to alleged negligence and reckless driving by the van driver, who rammed into the stationary bus from behind. Further investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan expressed deep grief over the loss of life in the accident. In a statement, he extended his condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families, describing the loss of precious lives as “extremely tragic”.
He said the injured were receiving the best possible medical attention, adding that the provincial government stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the affected families during this difficult time.
