SARGODHA/LAHORE: At least three men died and seven others were injured when a vehicle carrying a Tableeghi Jamaat (TJ) group overturned near Bhera Interchange on M2 motorway on Sunday, while 29 persons returning from the event suffered injuries in another accident in Lahore.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, in the first incident, the vehicle bringing back people from the Tableeghi Jamaat gathering held in Raiwind, Lahore, overturned when one of its tyres burst.

Most of the passengers in the vehicle were returning to Dir in Khyber Pakhtukhwa.

On being informed of the accident, a Rescue 1122 team reached the spot and shifted the injured persons and the dead bodies to the Bhera Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.

Those who died were identified as Naik Muhammad (33), son of Pir Badshah, Sabir Shah and Sultan (53), while the injured included Ashraf, Gul Salim Umar, Hidayat Allah, Abdul Wahab, Abdul Wahid, Noor Shah and Azam Khan.

Following the accident, teams of National Highway and Motorway Police and Punjab police also reached the spot.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the loss of precious human lives in the accident and offered condolences to the families of the deceased.

In the second incident, up to 29 participants returning from the Rainwind congregation were injured, 16 of them seriously, when a bus overturned in Lahore.

According to the initial reports, the bus carrying 70 people fell into an open drain near Puli No 2. The bus on its way to Bhopatian Chowk when it met with an accident.

The Rescue 1122 spokesperson claimed that the incident took place due to speeding.

The ambulances of Rescue 1122 shifted the seriously injured persons to nearby hospitals, besides providing first-aid to others on the spot.

Up to 15 of them were shifted to the Raiwind Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, while another was rushed to the Lahore General Hospital.

The traffic police arranged a crane to retrieve the bus from the open drain.

The local police have started investigations.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2024