THATTA: Three members of a family, two women and a youngster, were killed and two others suffered serious injuries when a rashly-driven car rammed into their vehicle near a recreational water sports park between Gharo and Gujjo towns on the National Highway on Friday morning.

Sources said that the three victims, Raheel Shah, 22, Noor Sabah and Anita Shah were cousins of Thatta DSP Syed Iftikhar Shah and were returning to Makli from Karachi in their Suzuki car when they met the accident.

Eyewitnesses said that as soon as the Suzuki Alto car reached opposite the water park a recklessly-driven white Toyota car appeared in its opposite direction on the dual track, which had sneaked through a newly-made cut in the central barrier separating the two tracks, and rammed into the smaller Suzuki car, causing serious injuries to its inmates.

Two occupants of the Toyota car, who were also seen oozing blood, trudged out of their vehicle and somehow managed to flee the scene in another vehicle coming after them, said the witnesses.

A large number of villagers and passersby rushed to the scene and dragged the three critically injured out of the badly mangled car but two of them, Rashid Shah and Noor Sabah, had already succumbed to their injuries while Anita Shah was barely breathing.

She was rushed to Karachi but she also reportedly died on her way to hospital.

The ill-advised and ill-planned cuts which influential owners of the recreational points along the highway have managed to have made through the central barrier separating the two tracks are the main reason behind the accidents. Besides, potholes in the highway also create problems for drivers and often lead to tragedies.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2019