BAHAWALPUR: A Government Sadiq College for Women University (GSCWU) student died, while three others, along with the driver, were seriously injured on Wednesday when their van collided with a trailer because of the poor visibility caused by thick smog on Bahawalpur-Lodhran highway, about 20km from here.

Lodhran Rescue 1122 media coordinator told Dawn by phone that the van carrying four GSCWU students was on way to the varsity in the morning when a trailer suddenly appeared on the road after leaving a roadside workshop, during the heavy smog enveloping the region.

Meanwhile, a bus came from the opposite direction and its driver was blinded by the heavy smog, he said.

He said that due to very poor visibility caused by the smog, the drivers of the van and the bus could not spot the trailer, and both vehicle collided with it.

As a result, the varsity students -- Farwa, Amna (18), Arfa Siddique (20), Sumaira Nadeem (20) -- and van driver Maroof (21), suffered serious injuries. They were shifted to the Lodhran District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, where Farwa succumbed to her injuries.

The remaining three students and the van driver are being treated in the DHQ hospital.

Deceased Farwa, daughter of Muhammad Nawaz, a resident of Lodhran, was a 5th Semester student in the GSCWU’s Zoology department. Her parents collected her body from the DHQ hospital.

GSCWU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Shazia Anjum condoled the student’s death and sympathised with the three injured girls, directing the varsity officials to ensure provision of proper treatment to them.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024