At least six people were killed, including two women, after a passenger van fell off a bridge connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Battagram and Mansehra districts - constructed as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - on Saturday, as per officials.
Hafeezur Rehman, Rescue 1122’s district emergency officer in Mansehra, told Dawn that the van carrying 13 passengers was on its way from Battagram’s Allai tehsil to the Mansehra district. The driver reportedly lost control of the steering wheel in Mansehra's Hathimera area.
At least five people were injured in the accident, as they were pulled out from a ditch along with the dead bodies by a rescue team. The bodies and the injured have been taken to a hospital in Mansehra, the official further said.
Families of the deceased and the injured persons have been informed of the accident and that the bodies will be handed over to the heirs after medico-legal formalities, said Hafeez.
Pakistan has a poor road safety record due to dilapidated conditions of roadways, irresponsible driving and low safety regulations.
Earlier this month, 21 members of a family barely escaped death when a wagon they were travelling in overturned on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road. In that case, the driver lost control of the vehicle during a sharp turn.
Prior to that in July, at least five people were killed and 20 others were severely injured after a bus driver fell asleep while driving, causing the vehicle to overturn in the Fazilpur area of Punjab's Rajanpur district. Rescue officials said that the bus was on its way to Jacobabad when it overturned after the driver lost control of the vehicle as he fell asleep.
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