Passenger coach collides with stranded bus in Pakistan, killing 16

At least 16 people were killed and seven others injured on May 25 after a passenger coach collided with a bus parked along a motorway in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, rescue officials have stated.

The police said the accident occurred when the passenger coach struck a bus that had been stationary on the roadside due to a mechanical fault, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Residents rushed to the scene and transferred the dead and injured to Mardan Medical Complex Hospital. The identities of the victims had yet to be confirmed.

Most of the deceased and injured were residents of Dir and Bajaur, travelling home for the Eid holidays.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan expressed sorrow over the incident, stating that the injured were receiving the best possible medical treatment.

Road accidents are frequently reported on highways and motorways in Pakistan, often attributed to speeding, reckless driving, driver fatigue, and poor vehicle maintenance, with road conditions also contributing to incidents.

Earlier this month, five people were killed and 10 injured when a van carrying a wedding party fell into a ravine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

On April 6, nine people were injured in a van crash near the Matani Bypass in Peshawar.

In the same week, three people died, and 26 were injured when a passenger bus overturned on the M-3 motorway near Nankana in Punjab.

On March 31, a motorway police inspector was killed after being hit by a truck while assisting at a traffic accident near the Hazara Motorway.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov