SARGODHA / ORMARA — At least 24 people were killed and more than 20 injured on Saturday in two separate road accidents in Punjab and Balochistan, highlighting the continued danger of travel during dense winter fog and speeding on highways.
In Punjab’s Sargodha district, 14 people, including six children, lost their lives when a truck carrying passengers fell from the Galapur Bangla bridge into a dry canal in Kot Momin tehsil in the early hours of Saturday. Rescue 1122 officials said the vehicle was travelling from Islamabad to Faisalabad for a funeral with 23 people on board when it lost control due to heavy fog.
Motorways in the region had been closed because of poor visibility, forcing the driver to take a local route. As the truck approached the Galapur bridge, it skidded off the road and plunged into the canal, overturning and trapping several passengers underneath.
Rescue teams reached the scene at 1:48am and launched an immediate operation. The injured were given first aid on site and later shifted to Civil Hospital Kot Momin, while three critically injured passengers were transferred to Kot Momin Tehsil Headquarters Hospital for advanced treatment.
Officials noted that dense fog frequently disrupts traffic across Punjab during winter, with major motorways including the M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4 and M-11 closed earlier the same day. In recent weeks, multiple fog-related crashes have claimed lives across the province.
Separately, in Balochistan, 10 people were killed and over a dozen injured when a speeding passenger coach overturned on the Makran Coastal Highway near Hudd Goth in Ormara tehsil, Gwadar district. Edhi rescue service confirmed that a young girl was among the deceased and dispatched a mobile morgue to transport bodies to Karachi.
Coastal Highway Police said the coach was travelling from Karachi to Jiwani when the accident occurred. The injured and deceased were initially taken to PNS Darman Jah Hospital in Ormara. Most of the victims reportedly belonged to different parts of Sindh and were travelling for labour-related work.
Police and rescue officials said fatal road accidents remain common in Pakistan, largely due to overspeeding, reckless overtaking and disregard for traffic rules. Earlier this month, five passengers died when a bus plunged into a ravine in Punjab’s Talagang district, while on December 31, a head-on collision on the Jhang–Faisalabad road killed 14 people.
Authorities have called for stricter enforcement of traffic laws and safer driving practices, particularly during foggy conditions when visibility is severely reduced.
Originally published by Dawn News.
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