KARACHI, July 19: A seven-year-old boy was killed and 40 others were injured – at least eight of them critically – on Saturday in a head-on-collision between two passenger buses on the Northern Bypass, police and hospital sources said.
Moachkoh police said the Karachi-bound Al-Habid Coach coming from Khuzdar rammed into a Hub-bound Mazda wagon some 20 kilometres from here at around 7.30am.
The dead and injured were brought to the Civil Hospital, where sources said that at least eight victims received life-threatening injuries in the accident. They said some of the injured were in a “highly precarious” condition and were shifted to intensive care units.
The dead boy was identified as Nataish, son of Chando, who was travelling with his parents to visit relatives in Hub.
His parents, however, were stated to be in a stable condition.
The injured also included three women, who were identified as Shehla, Sanita and Shahnaz.
Sub-inspector Ijaz Ali Khawaja told Dawn that the drivers of the two vehicles had fled. “However, they have been identified and booked in the FIR (No 191/2008) under Section 320 of the Pakistan Penal Code,” he added.
He said the police mounted a search for the drivers, Aziz son of Maula Bux and Ali Jan, son of Ghulam Ali.
Bandit killed
A suspected bandit was killed and his accomplice injured by one of their victims at a CNG kit station near Ayesha Manzil. A woman passer-by was injured in the shoot-out.
Jauharabad police said two bandits riding a bike (KDD-1559) reached the Zeeshan CNG Kit Service at Abid Square in Block 17 of the Federal B. Area at around 12.30pm.
They said that the intruders held the shop owner and his two customers, including a police sub-inspector, hostage at gunpoint.
The police said the bandits deprived their victims of cellular phones and cash. They said the bandits opened fire on SI Chaudhry Nazar when they found the police officer armed.
However, the police said, the inspector, who dodged two bullets fired by the bandits, returned fire and hit both the suspects.They said one of the suspects, Anwar, was killed instantly, and his alleged accomplice Afzal, son of Gul Khan, was injured.
The police said a passer-by, Mrs Shaista Shamshad, 35, was also injured in the crossfire.
The body, the injured suspect and the woman were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where sources said Anwar received five bullets, three of them in his upper torso, while Afzal sustained two bullets, one in his arm and the other in the leg. They said the injured suspect was in a stable condition.
Hospital sources said the woman was slightly injured and was discharged after treatment as the bullet had grazed her abdomen.
The police said the woman is a resident of Block 18 of Federal B. Area and she was on her way to a nearby shopping plaza.
The police said the suspects are residents of New Haji Camp near Sultanabad. They said suspect Afzal had a criminal background and was also booked in a robbery case by the Garden police.
The Jauharabad police registered a case (113/2008) against the injured suspect under Sections 392 and 397 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of SI Chaudhry Nazar.
The police said the SI was posted at the Gadap police station and had come to the shop to purchase a CNG kit.
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