Nankana Sahib [Pakistan], January 20 : At least five people, including a schoolchild, were killed and eight other children sustained injuries in two separate road accidents triggered by poor visibility amid dense fog in Punjab, Dawn reported.
In the first incident on Monday, a school van and a bus collided head-on on Buchekey Road in Nankana Sahib, amid dense fog. The crash left the van driver, Asghar (35), and a schoolchild, Turab Ali (15), dead on the spot, while eight other students suffered injuries, according to Dawn.
The injured children were shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Nankana Sahib, where Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Tasleem Akhtar Rao visited the facility and inquired after them.
The DC instructed the medical superintendent to ensure the best available treatment to the injured children, Dawn reported.
Following the accident, an emergency was declared at the hospital.
An official said that three injured students, Ghulam Fareed (14), Amer (18) and Adeel (19), who were in critical condition, have been referred to a Lahore hospital for treatment.
In a separate incident in Sialkot, three men lost their lives when a trailer loaded with iron rods overturned due to heavy fog.
Citing a Rescue 1122 spokesperson, Dawn reported that the trailer overturned near the Musapur stop on the Pasrur-Daska road after the driver failed to keep the vehicle on the road due to poor visibility.
As a result, the three men travelling on the trailer fell off and got trapped under the vehicle.
The Rescue 1122 teams rushed to the spot and, with the help of locals, pulled out the critically injured victims identified as Ali Raza (25), Arshad (40) and Afzal (45), from under the trailer, Dawn reported.
The rescuers administered first aid at the scene, but all three victims succumbed to their injuries on the spot.
After receiving information, the local police also reached the spot, while the rescue team completed legal formalities and shifted the bodies to a government hospital.