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 the Swat Highway. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
At least 16 people were killed and six others injured in a road accident on the Swat Highway on Monday after a passenger van crashed into a parked bus, according to the highway police.
National Highway and Highway Police officials said a passenger bus traveling from Karachi to Buner had been parked on the roadside on the Swat Highway when a passenger van traveling from Rawalpindi to Dir rammed into it from behind. The impact of the collision was so strong that the van was severely crushed.
Rescue teams and Highway Police personnel reached the spot after receiving information about the accident and shifted the deceased and injured to the 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 on the part of the van driver, who collided with the stopped bus from behind. Further investigations into the incident are underway.
Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the accident. In a statement, he expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and described the loss of precious human life as “extremely tragic.”
He said the injured were receiving the best medical care possible, adding that the provincial government stood shoulder to shoulder with the affected families during this difficult time.
