An accident on Makran coastal highway took the lives of 11 and left 35 injured on Sunday (August 25). A bus carrying pilgrims was going from Iran to Punjab (Pakistan), but it overturned near Buzzi Top after the driver lost control of it and fell into a ditch. Naveed Alam, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) from Lasbela stated that a crane was deployed for the rescue as four passengers were trapped inside the bus.
The deceased and injured were from Lahore and Gujranwala and were transferred to the civic hospital according to Hakeem Lassi, the Edh in charge of Lasbela. He further said that the Rescue 1122 unit of the army and Edhi teams are carrying out rescue operations. Ali Hassan, a passenger from Gujranwal in the bus mentioned that the bus was carrying around 60 passengers.
Injured taken to Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital
Rohana Gul Kakar, District Commissioner (Hub) said that five injured passengers were taken to Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub to receive first aid before being transferred to Karachi. She further said that a body was brought to the Rural Health Centre in Winder.
Mir Ali Hassan Zehri, an adviser to the CM of Balochistan stated that they contacted the Sindh government and directed the health department to ensure the best treatment for the injured. In a statement by District Commissioner Hamoodur Rehman, a travel ban has been imposed on the movement of pilgrims from Iran’s Gabad to Gwadar for their safety.
The issued statement also mentioned the ban from Iran on the entry of pilgrims and suggested they should avoid any travel at this time. The steps were taken to improve travel conditions for pilgrims. Recently 28 Pakistani pilgrims were killed, and 23 others injured when their bus crashed in Iran’s Yazd city. The bus overturned at the Dehshir-Taftan checkpoint in Yazd and subsequently caught fire.