At least 24 people were killed and more than 20 injured in two separate road accidents on Saturday in Punjab and Balochistan, officials said, highlighting the ongoing dangers posed by poor visibility and reckless driving on Pakistan’s highways.
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In Punjab’s Sargodha district, 14 people — including six children — lost their lives and nine others were injured after a truck plunged into a dry canal from the Galapur Bangla bridge in the early hours of the morning. According to Rescue 1122, the truck was carrying both cargo and passengers and was travelling from Islamabad to Faisalabad to attend a funeral.
Rescue officials said dense fog forced the closure of motorways, prompting the driver to take a local route. Near Kot Momin tehsil, the vehicle lost control due to poor visibility and fell off the bridge into the canal. Although the canal was dry, several passengers were trapped beneath the overturned truck.
Emergency services received the alert at 1:48am and immediately launched rescue operations. The injured were given first aid at the scene and shifted to Civil Hospital Kot Momin, while three critically injured victims were later moved to the Kot Momin Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.
Dense fog frequently disrupts traffic across Punjab during winter. On Saturday, the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) announced the closure of multiple motorway sections, including the M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4 and M-11, due to extremely low visibility. Earlier this week, at least 10 people were killed and 21 injured in several fog-related accidents across the province.
In a separate incident in Balochistan, 10 people, including a young girl, were killed and more than a dozen injured when a speeding passenger coach overturned on the Makran Coastal Highway near Hudd Goth in Gwadar’s Ormara tehsil. The coach was travelling from Karachi to Jiwani when the accident occurred.
According to Coastal Highway Police, the victims belonged to different areas of Sindh and were heading to Jiwani for labour work. The injured and deceased were initially taken to PNS Darman Jah Hospital in Ormara, while an Edhi mobile morgue was dispatched to transport the bodies to Karachi.
Pakistan continues to witness frequent fatal road accidents, particularly on highways, due to overspeeding, dangerous overtaking and poor adherence to traffic laws. Authorities have repeatedly urged drivers to exercise caution, especially during adverse weather conditions.
