At least 5 killed, over two dozen injured as bus plunges into drain in Punjab's Hafizabad

On Thursday, a tragic accident occurred in Hafizabad district, Punjab, when a passenger bus fell into a drain, resulting in at least five deaths and over twenty injuries, according to Rescue 1122. The mishap took place in the Fatehke area of Pindi Bhattian tehsil, where the bus, en route from Raiwind to Chiniot, reportedly lost control due to overspeeding.

Rescue services were promptly dispatched to the scene, commencing immediate rescue operations. First aid was provided to the injured on-site, while 20 of them were subsequently transported to a nearby hospital. Utilizing the assistance of the local authorities, a crane was employed to lift the bus, allowing rescue teams to recover the bodies of the five victims buried beneath the wreckage.

Amid ongoing concerns that additional passengers might be trapped under the debris, five rescue vehicles joined the search operation. The incident serves as a grim reminder of the dangers associated with reckless driving, as evidenced by a similar accident last week in Balochistan, where 12 passengers perished and around two dozen were injured when a minibus and a passenger coach collided head-on near Zero Point in Uthal on the Quetta-Karachi Highway.

This recent tragedy follows another fatal collision two days prior, where a passenger bus overturned after colliding with a road divider on the Indus Highway in Rajanpur district, leaving 10 dead and 44 injured.