KARACHI: At least 17 religious pilgrims were killed and 41 injured in a crash as they traveled to a shrine in southwestern Pakistan, officials said Thursday.
The crash happened around 10 p.m. on Wednesday night in the Hub district of Balochistan province, district deputy commissioner Munir Ahmed told AFP, confirming the toll.
“The truck was overspeeding and it went out of the driver’s control while negotiating a turn” and fell into a ravine in a mountainous town as they approached the shrine, he said.
The travelers were en route to a prayer site during the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr, which is currently underway, he added.
“The driver jumped out of the truck and remains safe,” he said.
Shaukat Jalbani, the deputy medical superintendent of Hub’s main hospital, also confirmed 17 people had been killed and said most of the injured had been sent to nearby Karachi for treatment.
Early Thursday, an AFP photographer in the southern city saw workers unloading the shrouded bodies of those killed into a morgue.
Road accidents with high fatalities are common in Pakistan where safety measures are lax, driver training is poor and transport infrastructure often decrepit.
In January 2023, 41 people were killed when their passenger bus, which was also loaded with containers of flammable oil, plunged into a ravine in Balochistan province and burst into flames.
Officials say 17 people killed, 41 injured in truck crash in Pakistan’s southwest
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Officials say 17 people killed, 41 injured in truck crash in Pakistan’s southwest
- The vehicle went out of the driver’s control while taking a turn in Balochistan’s Hub district
- The travelers were en route to a prayer site in the area during the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr
Pakistan dispatches special plane carrying 100 tons of tents for Gaza
- Pakistan dispatches special plane from Lahore for Egypt’s Al-Arish city for onward delivery to Gaza
- Pakistan has sent 28 relief consignments for Gaza comprising 2,727 tons of relief items in total since 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) dispatched a special plane carrying 100 tons of tents for the people of Gaza on Monday, the authority said, vowing to continue addressing Palestinians’ humanitarian needs.
This was the 28th relief consignment from Pakistan for the people of Palestine, the NDMA said, adding that it was sent with the support of Pakistani charity Alkhidmat Foundation.
The relief goods, which comprised 100 tons of tents, were dispatched via a special flight from the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore to Egypt’s Al Arish city for onward delivery to Gaza.
“With the dispatch of this latest consignment, the total volume of humanitarian assistance sent to Palestine through 28 consignments has reached 2,727 tons,” the NDMA said.
The relief goods were sent in a ceremony attended by Punjab Housing Minister Mian Bilal Yasin, senior officials of the NDMA, Pakistan’s foreign ministry and representatives of government departments as well as Alkhidmat Foundation.
“Government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan stand firmly with the people of Palestine in this difficult time and will continue to make every possible effort to support them and address their humanitarian needs,” the NDMA’s press release concluded.
The development takes place after Israel allowed the limited reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Feb. 2. The crossing serves as the only gateway for the people of Gaza to the outside world that does not pass through Israel.
It reopened last week for the movement of people nearly two years after Israeli forces seized control of the crossing during the war with Hamas.
The reopening of Rafah has long been demanded by the United Nations and aid organizations, forming a key element of US President Donald Trump’s truce plan for Gaza, where humanitarian conditions remain dire.
Pakistan has consistently criticized Israel for its war on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 70,000 Palestinians, among them women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.
Islamabad is also a member of Trump’s newly constituted Board of Peace global body, which seeks to resolve the Gaza conflict and other disputes around the world.
