11 killed as coaster falls into ditch near Lowari Top

DIR: At least 11 people, including three children, were killed and 10 others injured when a Chitral-bound coaster plunged into a ravine near the Lowari Top early Sunday, police and local sources said.

The sources said the vehicle, carrying 23 passengers, was on its way to Chitral from Rawalpindi when it met the accident near the Lowari Top. As a result, 11 people, including three children, were killed on the spot. The dead included a groom and two of his family members.

Eleven of the dead were identified as Sirajuddin, Syed Haibatullah, Syed Kalimullah, Sadia, Amir Islam, Mohammad Shafi, Zar Nabi, Mohibur Rehman, Sultan Ali and Musa Khan. Police sources said some of the injured were referred to Peshawar owing to their critical condition.

Two passengers escaped unhurt as they had got off the coach. One of the survivors said the coach fell off while trying to pass a truck coming from the opposite direction. “The coach was trying to negotiate a steep and narrow bend when a full-body truck came from the other side. Both large vehicles could not pass due to the road being narrow, steep and curvy,” he added.

“The coach was heavy under the load of passengers and struggled to move up after its motion broke. I and another passenger got off to try to push it from behind to help it go up. We both stepped aside as the coach could not move up. Just in a wink we heard a whirring and as we looked back to the coach it moved backward uncontrollably and fell off the road,” he said.

Meanwhile, the residents of Chitral asked the government to ban night-time travel to the district.“The deadly accidents have become a routine on the road. The government must ban night-time travel on the route and close illegal bus stands running transport service to Chitral,” said Gulzar Shah, a social worker.