According to officials, at least 20 people were killed and six injured when a passenger bus collided with an oil tanker on the Multan-Sukkur Motorway (M-5) in the early hours of Tuesday.
In a statement the Multan Deputy Commissioner Tahir Wattoo confirmed the incident, saying that the passenger bus, which was travelling from Lahore to Karachi, hit the oil tanker from the rear side at Jalalpur Peerwala interchange on the motorway.
A fire erupted after the collision and 20 people died on the spot, the statement added.
Meanwhile, Multan Commissioner Amir Khattak also confirmed the development in a tweet. He said the accident had taken place around 4am.
However, a statement issued by Rescue 1122’s provincial monitoring centre in Lahore said the accident took place at 2:20am.
Photographs of the accident’s site shared by the commissioner showed the charred wreckage of the bus and the oil tanker.
The tanker was carrying thousands of litres of petrol, claimed motorway official. He added that the apparent cause of the accident was the bus driver falling asleep.
Medical superintendent at Nishtar Hospital, Multan Dr Amjad Chandio told Dawn.com that four of the injured were initially shifted to the facility’s burns unit while arrangements for the 20 dead bodies were also under way at the hospital’s mortuary.
Later, DC Wattoo issued another statement, saying that the process of DNA testing was being initiated for the identification of the deceased.
CM Punjab takes notice of the incident
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi sought a report on the incident from the Multan commissioner.
Further, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed grief over the incident and prayed for the deceased and their families.
PM Expressed Grief
“I am saddened by the loss of 20 precious lives in the accident. My prayers are with the bereaved families,” he tweeted.
