Death toll in Hub truck crash climbs to 17

The death toll climbed to 17 in a deadly truck crash in Hub city late Wednesday night when devotees were travelling to a shrine in Khuzdar, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.

At least 17 devotees were killed and another 41 injured in the crash as they travelled to Dargah Shah Noorani in Khuzdar.

The truck set off for Khuzdar from Makli at 2:00 pm on Eid day and later met the accident in Hub, the police said.

The crash happened around 10 pm (1700 GMT) on Wednesday night in Hub district of Balochistan, district deputy commissioner Munir Ahmed told AFP, confirming the toll of dead and injured.

"The truck was overspeeding and it went out of the driver's control while negotiating a turn" at Ayyan Pir and fell into a ravine as they approached the shrine, the deputy commissioner said.

Shaukat Jalbani, the deputy medical superintendent of Hub's main hospital, also confirmed 17 people had been killed and said most of the injured with serious wounds had been sent to Civil Hopital in nearby Karachi for treatment.

Rescue officials said 38 of the injured people have been identified.

The dead bodies were shifted to a village in Thatta from Sohrab Goth morgue.

Outside the Edhi morgue in Karachi, the relatives of the victims killed in the incident told media that all the deceased will be buried in the native village Makli.

The relatives refuted reports regarding the incident occurring due to a race between drivers and said that it, in fact, took place after the truck went out of control while taking a turn.

"Passengers kept falling from the truck, which resulted in deaths," they said.

The relatives claim that at least 17 people have died in the accident, while 49 injured are under treatment in Civil Hospital.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also took notice of the incident, directing the district administration to transfer the injured to the hospitals immediately. The spokesperson of the provincial government shared that an emergency has been imposed in the Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital Hub. He added that emergency instructions have been sent to the commissioners of Kalat and Hub.

The spokesperson also shared that the CM has asked the administration to contact the Sindh government to shift the critically injured to Karachi.

According to Balochistan Health Secretary Abdullah Khan the bodies of the five people killed and 16 of the injured have been shifted to the Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi taking note of the incident expressed his sympathy and condolences to the families affected by the incident. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Road accidents with high fatalities are common in Pakistan where safety measures are lax, driver training is poor and transport infrastructure often decrepit.

In January 2023, 41 people were killed when their passenger bus, which was also loaded with containers of flammable oil, plunged into a ravine in Balochistan and burst into flames.

President, PM express sorrow

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday expressed deep grief over the loss of precious lives in tragic accident in Shah Noorani.

In a condolence message, the president prayed for grant of courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with fortitude.

He also prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls. “My sympathies are with the family members of the pilgrims who died in the accident”, the president said.

He also prayed for early recovery of those injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday expressed deep grief over the loss of precious lives in the traffic accident happened to the pilgrims’ vehicle near Lasbela.

The prime minister expressed his condolences to the families of those died in the accident.

He prayed for the elevation of ranks of the departed souls in paradise. The prime minister also prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident.

He directed the relevant authorities to provide all possible medical aid to the injured.

Reporters Shazaib Hussain and Essa Tareen