ISRAR AHMED/Agencies
CHAKWAL/RAWALPINDI - Twenty-two people including women and children were killed and over 20 others injured when a mini-truck fell in ravine near Kalar Kahar on Saturday night.
Police said that the overloaded Shahzore truck carrying devotees from Sargodha to Darbar ‘Khara Sharif’ fell in 250 feet deep ravine in Marden Qila village of Chakwal. According to reports, the incident occurred due to break failure.
Police, rescuers and locals rushed to the incident place, which is a mining area, and started rescuer operations. Darkness created difficulties for the rescuers. Three children and four women were among the 16 people who died on the spot.
The injured and deceased were shifted to Lillah Hospital, Fauji Foundation and BHU Boochal where state of emergency was declared and paramedics started treating the patients, some of whom were critical. The names and identities of the deceased and injured were yet to be ascertained. “The ill-fated mini-truck with 45 people on board was heading towards Pir Khara shrine from Sargodha Road, at around 8:30pm when it plunged into the ravine owing to brake failure,” said a police source. District Police Officer (DPO) Chakwal Dr Moheen Masood, despite several attempts, could not be approached for his comments.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Rabatta Committee, Pakistan Peoples Party Patron-in-Chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have expressed deep sense of sorrow and grief over the loss of precious human lives in a road accident near Chakwal. The Punjab Chief Minister directed the district administration to provide best treatment facilities to the injured and prayed for their early recovery.
THREE RANGERS KILLED AS VEHICLE OVERTURNS
Bilal Habib from Rahim Yar Khan: At least three rangers were killed and 34 injured when a vehicle turned turtle in Cholistan near Shaikh Zayed Palace on Saturday.
According to sources, a vehicle was coming back from Soorhian, some 55 kilometers from Rahim Yar Khan, to Cholistan Rangers Headquarters after a routine trip. On its way back, the vehicle overturned as a result of which many soldiers fell on the road. Reportedly, Naik Majeed Asghar, a resident of Noorpur, Khushab, Naik Arshad Mehmood, a resident of Kanganpur, Kasur, and Allah Ditta of Badomalhi, Narowal, died on the spot and 34 others were injured.
About 21 sustained minor injuries while 13 were severely injured, but were out of danger. All the critically injured rangers were shifted to Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital.  The funeral prayers of the three soldiers were offered at Cholistan Rangers Headquarters in the presence of Cholistan Rangers Commandant Tasawar Hayat. Their bodies were sent to their native areas.