Two labourers killed after trailer runs over them while resting underneath

KARACHI: Two young labourers died in Karachi on Wednesday after being run over by a trailer while they were resting beneath the vehicle to escape intense heat, police said.

The incident took place near Younus Chowrangi in the Quaidabad police jurisdiction, officials said. The bodies were shifted to Jinnah Hospital by the rescue team.

The victims were identified as Mohammad Arshad, son of Fazal-ur-Rehman, and Zameer, son of Nawab.

Police said both were between 16 and 18 years old and worked as labourers at a nearby factory.

Quaidabad police station house officer Mohammad Ijaz said Arshad hailed from Khushab district, while Zameer was from Sanghar. Both were employed as workers and had been working in the area, he added.

Police said the two youths had taken shelter under a parked trailer due to extreme heat and fell asleep, after which the driver involuntarily moved the vehicle, crushing them.

The trailer driver fled the scene after the incident, but police said they had obtained important information about the vehicle and its driver and were working to trace him.

The bodies were later handed over to the families after completion of legal formalities, police said.

A relative of Zameer told media at the Jinnah Hospital that he worked as a cleaner on a goods trailer and had come to Port Qasim earlier in the day for unloading work.

He said Zameer had recently married and was resting under a trailer when the incident occurred.

Police said further investigation was under way.