17 killed in truck-passenger bus collision in northwest Pakistan

At least 17 people were killed on Thursday, women and children included, in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Kohat when a passenger coach collided with a trawler, a rescue official confirmed.

According to a statement by Rescue 1122 Kohat, the accident took place near Kohat Tunnel on the Indus Highway in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Seventeen persons, including children and women, died when a passenger coach collided head-on with a trawler near Kohat tunnel,” Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122 Kohat, told Arab News.

Pictures released by Rescue 1122 showed a huge trawler overturned on the highway as several rescue officials provided help to the injured.

Last week, another unfortunate accident was reported in Kohat when a boat capsized in the Tanda Dam lake in the city, resulting in 51 casualties.

The boat capsized on Sunday as a group of over 50 students from Mir Bash Khel seminary, in the 8-14 age group, had gone for a picnic with the seminary’s caretaker.

Deadly accidents are common in Pakistan due to poor road infrastructure and a disregard for traffic laws.

On Sunday, a passenger bus crashed into a pillar and fell off a bridge in Baluchistan province, catching fire and killing 40 people.