Five killed, 40 injured as bus falls into drain near Pindi Bhattian

LAHORE: Five people were killed and 40 others injured after a passenger bus travelling from Raiwind to Chiniot fell into a drain near Pindi Bhattian in Punjab, rescue officials said on Thursday.

The accident occurred on Kot Nakah Road, with 65 passengers aboard the bus, according to rescue officials. All injured passengers were shifted to hospitals for treatment.

Local residents said the five people killed in the accident belonged to Jiabagga, an area of Raiwind. The passengers were travelling to attend a conference in Chiniot.

Maryam Nawaz expresses condolences

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Pindi Bhattian accident and extended her condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families.

She directed administrative officials to ensure that the injured received the best possible medical facilities.

Recent major road accidents in Punjab

The accident comes amid several fatal road crashes reported across Punjab in recent weeks.

On October 21, a passenger bus collided with a divider and overturned at Bangla Hidayat on the Indus Highway, killing 10 people. The victims included seven men, two women and a young girl.

On October 20, five young men were killed when a speeding Toyota Corolla struck a divider before crashing into the wall of a plot in Multan’s Bosan Road area. The car caught fire after the collision. All five victims were residents of Shujaabad.

On October 15, a speeding 22-wheeler trailer struck a car from behind while it was stopped at a traffic signal on Allama Iqbal Road in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu area. The crash killed 42-year-old Asim, his 35-year-old wife Huma and their 15-year-old son Talha.

Earlier, on January 17, a truck carrying 23 people from Islamabad to Faisalabad plunged into a dry canal near the Galapur Bangla Bridge close to Kot Momin amid dense fog. The accident killed 14 people, including six children, and injured nine others.