3 dead, 8 injured as bus overturns in Karachi’s Gulshan-i-Hadeed

Three people were killed and eight others were injured when a bus overturned in Karachi’s Gulshan-i-Hadeed on Friday morning, rescue officials said.

The city has lately witnessed a rise in traffic accidents, especially involving heavy vehicles, including dumpers and water tankers, which killed nearly 500 people and injured 4,879 in 2024, according to hospital data.

Speaking to media.com today, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Traffic Police Pir Mohammed Shah said, “At 6:30am, a fatal road traffic accident occurred on Link Road Kathore towards the National Highway near Samandari Baba.”

He said a passenger bus bearing registration number LES-1244, while travelling along the route, veered off the roadway and overturned.

According to preliminary findings, the driver of the bus had fallen asleep while driving, causing the vehicle to drift off the road and subsequently overturn.

“The incident occurred without direct interaction with any other vehicle at the time of the crash,” DIG said.

The accident tragically resulted in the death of three individuals, who have been identified as 59-year-old Abdul Ghafoor, 25-year-old Ghulam Fareed, and 35-year-old Kausar Saeed.

The body of the deceased was moved to the Jinnah Hospital Karachi via Chhipa Ambulance Service.

Furthermore, approximately 15 to 20 passengers sustained injuries, DIG Shah said.

He added that KRAAT’s (Karachi Road Accident Analysis Team) preliminary investigation indicated that the primary cause of the accident was driver fatigue, leading to the driver falling asleep at the wheel.

Consequently, he said, the bus veered off the road and overturned, adding that recklessness and negligence, in the form of driving without adequate rest, directly contributed to this fatal crash.

In pursuance of the continued efforts of the provincial government to control the menace of accidents in Karachi, the city administration on Thursday extended the complete ban imposed on heavy vehicles in the city during daytime for another two months.

A total of nine dumpers and water tankers were set on fire by angry mobs last month near the main road leading to 4-K Chowrangi after a heavy vehicle hit a bike rider, injuring him in the North Karachi area.

An elderly man was killed in April after being run over by a water tanker, police and rescue officials said.

On Tuesday, an employee of the Pakistan Navy was killed while another was injured in Karachi’s Baldia after a 10-wheeler trailer hit them, police said.