KARACHI: At least 17 religious pilgrims were killed and 41 injured in a mishap while travelling to a Sher Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan, officials said Thursday.
The collision occurred at 10 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Wednesday night in Balochistan’s Hub district, according to local deputy commissioner Munir Ahmed, who confirmed the toll.
“The truck was overspeeding and it went out of the driver’s control while negotiating a turn” and plunged into a ravine in a hilly town as they neared the shrine, he explained.
The travelers were on their way to a prayer spot during the Eid al-Fitr festival, which is now taking place, he explained.
“The driver jumped out of the truck and remains safe,” added the officer.
Shaukat Jalbani, the deputy medical superintendent of Hub’s main hospital, confirmed 17 deaths and claimed the majority of the injured were sent to neighboring Karachi for treatment.
Early Thursday, an AFP photographer in the southern city observed workmen unloading the covered remains of those dead into a morgue.
Road accidents with significant mortality are prevalent in Pakistan, where safety precautions are lacking, driver training is inadequate, and transportation infrastructure is frequently deteriorated.
In January 2023, 41 persons were murdered when a passenger bus carrying flammable oil plummeted into a ravine in Balochistan province and caught fire.
Maria Ghanchi