12 killed, over 32 injured as bus and truck collide head-on in Pakistan's Punjab

Twelve passengers were killed in a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a goods truck on Dipalpur Road in the Pakpattan area of Pakistan's Punjab province.

More than 32 people were injured. Five of the injured admitted to hospital are said to be in serious condition. The sudden accident caused panic across the area.

The accident took place on Dipalpur Road in Pakpattan, about 200 km from Lahore. According to the information available, the bus was travelling at high speed from Sahiwal district towards Kasur city when it collided head-on with a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction. The impact was so severe that the bus overturned on the road.

Punjab's emergency service, Rescue 1122, reached the spot soon after the accident. Several passengers were trapped inside the overturned bus. Rescuers used special cutting machines to cut through the bus's metal parts and seats and pulled out the injured. After a rescue operation lasting about three hours, all the bodies and the injured were taken to a local hospital.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, 10 passengers died on the spot. The two other critically injured people died during treatment at the hospital. The dead include a police officer and a government employee.

According to eyewitnesses, it was a single-lane road and the bus driver was driving very fast. He lost control of the bus while trying to overtake, and it collided head-on with the truck.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed deep grief and sorrow over the accident. She expressed sympathy with the families of the dead. She also gave strict instructions to the officials concerned to ensure that all the injured receive the best treatment, free of charge, in hospital.