SUKKUR: As many as 21 passengers were killed and five injured in a devastating road accident in Khairpur on Monday. A Sukkur bound passenger wagon packed with 26 people was going from Ranipur. As the wagon was crossing the Shah Hussain Khairpur Bypass, it came across a truck loaded with coal. Suddenly, a tyre of the truck burst and the heavy truck fell on the wagon, crushing the people beneath. Nearby villagers, police and Motorway Police rushed to the scene to rescue the wagon passengers and a crane was called to remove the truck. The bodies and the injured were rushed to Civil Hospital, Khairpur, where an emergency was announced.
The dead were identified as Nazir Hussain Ujjan, Hidayat Ali Solangi, Abdul Rasheed Khohro, Tanveer Ahmed Lund, Muhammed Ramzan Kalihoro, Naveed Ahmed Solangi, Mohon Das, Khalil Ahmed Leghari, Sadderuddin Junejo, Bhanho Khan Ujjan, Ali Gul Ansar, Perveez Lanjwani, Amanullah Gopang, Ghulam Hussain Sheedi, Pasand Ali Kandhro, Jameel Raza Solangi, Muhammed Azam Kaleri, Muhammed Arif Malalh, Manzoor Ali Sahetto and Rafiq Ahmed Bhellar. The injured were identified as Sabit Ali Ujjan, Amjad Ali Junejo, Pathan Jogi, Muhammed Saffar Phulpoto and Nadeem Ali Shaikh.
An injured Sadderuddin complained to the media that delay in rescue work led to several deaths. He said all the wagon passengers remained trapped under the truck for over two hours as there was hardly any equipment to remove the truck and the victims from the crushed debris of the wagon. According to the police, the truck driver escaped from the scene, while a case was not filed till the filing of these lines.