24 die in two Pakistani accidents

At least 24 people died when a 4x4 packed with passengers drove off a mountain road and a crowded pick-up truck rammed into another vehicle in north-western Pakistan today, police said.

Thirteen people died and one was injured in the 4x4 crash near Balakot, a scenic town about 180 miles north-east of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, local police official Khan Afsar said.

Rescue teams transported the survivor and the dead – six men, four women and three children – to a hospital, Afsar said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, he said.

In the other accident near the city of Dera Ismail Khan in the same province, a pick-up truck collided with an oncoming truck as its driver tried to overtake a rickshaw, said Salahuddin Kundi, a city police official.

Most of the 11 killed were in the pick-up, Kundi said.

Fifteen injured people were taken to a hospital in Dera Ismail Khan, about 155 miles south-west of Peshawar, including some in serious condition, he said.

Pick-up trucks are commonly used for public transport in rural areas in Pakistan and are often crowded. Fatal road accidents are common as traffic rules are frequently disregarded and public transport drivers often work long hours.