At least 25 passengers lost their lives when a coaster traveling from Haveli Kahuta to Rawalpindi fell into a ditch
HAVELI KAHUTA/RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD, August 25 (SABAH): At least 25 passengers lost their lives while one person sustained injuries on Sunday when a coaster traveling from Haveli Kahuta to Rawalpindi fell into a ditch.
The bus was traveling with 30 passengers from Haveli Kahuta to Rawalpindi, the sources said, adding that the accident took place near Pana bridge.
“The accident was caused due to the coaster’s failed brakes,” Rescue 1122 Punjab official Usman Gujjar said.
The bodies are currently being shifted to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Kahuta, he said, adding that 26 passengers were on board.
According to the rescue official, victims included 20 men, four women and one child. “The tragic accident occurred on the Girari Bridge of Kahuta’s Azad Pattan Road,” the official further said.
Sardar Abdul Waheed, Commissioner of Poonch Division, confirmed that the accident occurred near Pana Pul, between Azaad Pattan and Kahuta.
Upon receiving the news, rescue teams were immediately sent from Rawalakot and Sadhanoti.
Deputy Commissioner Sadhanoti, Umar Farooq, stated that the deceased include children, women, and men, all of whom were from the Sadhanoti district.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari expressed “deep grief over the loss of precious lives” in the accident. “My sympathies are with the bereaved families in this hour of sorrow,” he said, according to a post shared by his party, PPP, on the X platform. He also emphasised on the need to “speed up relief activities”.
Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in a bus accident near Azad Pattan, according to Radio Pakistan. In a statement, he prayed “for the high ranks of the departed souls and patience for their families”. The premier also directed “authorities to provide immediate medical aid to the injured”.
Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq also expressed his condolences, praying for the departed souls and for the families of the deceased. He directed the authorities concerned to work with the Punjab government to ascertain the reason of the accident.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in a statement expressed “heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the families of the deceased in both accidents.”
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said that she felt “deeply saddened” by the loss of lives“. “May Allah exalt the ranks of those who died in this tragedy and grant patience to their loved ones,” she said on X.
Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also expressed regret over the accident. In a post on X, the speaker “expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of life of more than 22 passengers as a result of the accident”.
“The speaker prayed for the speedy recovery of the passengers injured in the accident,” the statement read. “I express my heartfelt condolences and solidarity with the families of those who died in the accident,” Ayaz Sadiq said, adding that “authorities should ensure the provision of immediate medical aid to the injured persons in the accident”.