Smog leaves eight dead, over 55 hurt in Punjab

LAHORE: Rough weather and low visibility due to smog left at least eight dead and nearly 55 wounded in various traffic accidents in Punjab.

Smog a chemical reaction that causes air to be significantly polluted and hinders traffic visibility has impaired traffic routes as well flight schedules.

The motorway and other national highways have extremely low visibility creating challenges during driving and leading to accidents.

Five people were killed and nine injured in Kamonki when a passenger van collided with a bus.

A truck-bus crash on the motorway, near Jalalpur Bhattian, left one man dead and five others wounded.

A multi vehicle accident on M2 motorway, near Sargodha section, and involving eight cars left 10 people injured. The wounded were subsequently moved to Kot Addu Hospital, rescue sources said. Police commented that the crash was caused by fog.

A passenger van slammed into a truck in Sheikhupura leaving 15 people injured. All the wounded belonged to the
same family. In Lahore, four people were brought to a local hospital after they were injured in a car crash.

Four others were hurt after an oil tanker ran over a motorbike before bumping into a truck in Arifwala.

At least two people died and more than a dozen others injured some critically in smog related road mishaps in Jhang on Saturday.

Police and rescue sources said that due to poor visibility caused by smog various vehicles motorcycles collided with each other in different areas of Jhang city and suburbs. Two people were reported killed and 15 others injured in separate road mishaps.

On the other hand some five flights out of Multan and Faisalabad were cancelled due to the dense haze. Reports said Faisalabad airport was closed while flights at Multan airport were also affected. Earlier, three international flights en route to Faisalabad were disrupted. They were consequently diverted to Lahore.

The smog has also triggered the closure of multiple sections of the motorway primarily during nighttimes.

Motorway police commented that the visibility had dropped down to only 25-50 metres at various places from Lahore to Bhera. Authorities have, therefore, advised citizens to be careful while driving on highways and strongly recommended the use of fog lights.