Children among 14 killed in rickshaw crash

A trailer truck hit a rickshaw crowded with children heading for school in eastern Pakistan today, leaving 14 people dead, police said.

The rickshaw skidded under the truck after one of its wheels came off on a road near Habibabad, a village about 200km east of Multan, a city in Punjab province, local police officer Shakeel Ahmed Khokhar said.

The truck swerved to avoid the rickshaw but tilted after hitting a pavement, Mr Khokhar said.

Twelve children aged between eight and 13 were killed, some of them crushed by fertiliser bags which the truck was carrying, Mr Khokhar said.

The rickshaw driver and an adult male passenger also died in the collision, he said.

Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan, where disregard for traffic rules is widespread.