LAHORE: At least 20 people died and six got injured when a sleeper passenger bus and an oil tanker collided at the Multan-Sukkur Motorway in tehsil Jalalpur Pirwala in the wee hours of Tuesday, a police spokesperson said.

“The bus and oil tanker caught fire as a result of the collision,” the spokesperson said, adding that Rescue 1122 and police were on the site. The National Highways & Motorway Police and the rescue team put out the fire. Police have set up an emergency crisis centre.

All the casualties have been shifted to Nishtar Hospital, Multan.

The bus was supposed to reach Karachi via Sukkur, Moro, and Hyderabad in 16 hours. It was a 2009 model vehicle. It departed from Lahore at 9pm.

“At 4am, at motorway obarra junobi terrible accident happened between bus LES -1211- 09 and Oil Tanker LDA/6,” Tahir Wattoo, the Multan deputy commissioner, said in a tweet.

He added that the bus hit the oil tanker from the rear side which led to a fire eruption. “06X persons got injured and 20X died on the spot. On spot monitoring rescue process,” he said.

Read more: 62 killed in bus-tanker collision: victims burnt beyond recognition

Two drivers operate when the bus travels from Lahore to Karachi and the staff changes at Sukkur. As many as 24 passengers – out of which two were headed to Hyderabad and the rest of them to Sindh’s provincial capital – a driver and bus hostess were onboard the bus.

Punjab CM Pervez seeks report from Multan commissioner

Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi has sought a report from the Multan commissioner over the incident, stressing that it should be investigated from every angle to trace the people responsible for such negligence.

“Every eye is in tears over this tragic accident,” he said in a statement. “The Punjab government equally shares the grief of heirs of the bereaved families.”

Pervez offered his condolences to the bereaved families and directed the officials to provide the best health facilities to the injured persons.

Data on traffic accidents

At least 5,816 people died in as many as 10,429 accidents that occurred in the country in the year 2020-21, said the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. Around 12,886 got injured in such accidents where 15,351 were involved. Here is the province-wise breakdown:

President Alvi, PM Shehbaz grieved

President Arif Alvi has expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the accident. In a statement, he offered his condolences to the bereaved families.

“Effective measures should be taken to avoid such incidents,” he said and stressed the need for following safety precautions and traffic rules.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the accident as “very tragic”.

“My prayers are with the bereaved families. We pray to Allah Almighty to give the deceased a place in His mercy and give patience to the bereaved,” he said in a tweet.

This is a developing story and it would be updated as information is received.