At least 8 killed, 30 injured as bus hits truck on Pakistan's Hazara Motorway

A serious road crash struck north-western Pakistan early on Friday morning, when a passenger bus collided with a truck near the Havelian Interchange on the Hazara Motorway, killing at least eight people and injuring 30. The bus was travelling from the Gilgit region to Rawalpindi — police said it had set out from Hunza — in Abbottabad district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Women and children among the injured; four in critical condition

According to The News, the 30 injured included 19 men, six women and five children, all taken to Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad, four of them in critical condition. Of the eight dead, five died at Ayub Teaching Hospital, including three who were brought in dead and two who died during treatment; two other bodies were taken to District Headquarters Hospital Abbottabad and one to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Havelian. The dead were reported to be from the Gilgit region. The reported toll rose through the day before settling at eight dead and 30 injured.

Tyre burst suspected; cause under investigation

Rescue 1122 said initial information suggested a tyre burst may have caused the driver to lose control before the bus struck the truck, but the final cause will depend on the investigation. The rescue service sent seven ambulances and a rescue vehicle to the scene. The National Highways and Motorway Police have opened an investigation, and the Deputy Commissioner of Abbottabad directed hospitals in the district to mobilise medical resources for the injured.

A day earlier, a bus-truck collision on Pakpattan Road in Punjab province killed 11 people and injured 33.

(Sources: The News, Xinhua, Rescue 1122.)