QUETTA: Five people were killed and 10 others wounded after a passenger van veered off a road and fell into a river in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Sunday, officials said.
Between 6,000 and 8,000 people annually die in accidents on single-lane roads, infamously known as the “killer highways,” that spread over thousands of kilometers in the impoverished Pakistani province that borders Afghanistan and Iran, according to highway authorities.
Fatal road accidents frequently take place in Pakistan, especially in rural areas, where roads are often in poor condition and traffic regulations are rarely followed. The absence of dual carriageways, inadequate training of drivers and lack of patrolling makes the matters worse.
On Sunday, the passenger van, which was en route to Sibi district from Harnai, slipped off a poorly built road in the mountainous Kut Mandai area and plunged into River Beji, Sibi Deputy Commissioner Mansoor Qazi said.
“Initial investigation has revealed that the route was very slippery after the [recent] rains,” Qazi said. "Hence, the vehicle veered off into the river."
The deceased included four women, while six of the 10 wounded persons received minor injuries, the official said, they were further investigating the cause of the accident.
Dr. Ishaque Mastoi, medical superintendent of the Sibi District Headquarters Hospital, said two of the critically wounded persons were shifted to Trauma Center in the provincial capital of Quetta.
“A four-year-old girl, Tor Zadi, and 24-year-old Haseeb Khan received serious orthopedic injuries, hence we have shifted them to Quetta for better medical care,” Dr. Mastoi told Arab News.
Roads in the Harnai-Sibi range are mostly dilapidated and considered dangerous for travel by authorities. DC Qazi said drivers frequently take the “no-go area” of Kut Mandai, where proper roads are scarce and vehicles have to be at times driven on muddy tracks.
On June 8, 22 people, including women and children, were killed when a passenger van skewed across a narrow road and fell into a ravine in Balochistan's Killa Saifullah district. Authorities suspected the incident resulted from speeding.