HUB: At least 13 people lost their lives and 20 were injured when a truck ful of pilgrims travelling to the Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan fell into a ditch the Hub district of the province, Geo News reported on Wednesday citing a Balochistan government spokesperson.
The Shah Noorani shrine is located in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district while the truck carrying the pilgrims had fallen in the Hub district of Balochistan.
The spokesman said that the pilgrims were travelling to the shrine from Karachi.Â
On the other hand, the police told Geo News that the pilgrims who were involved in the accident belonged to Thatta district of Sindh.
Taking notice of the incident, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti directed the district administration to immediately transfer the injured to the hospitals.
The spokesperson of the provincial government shared that an emergency has been imposed in the Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital of Hub. He added that emergency instructions have been sent to the commissioners of Kalat and Hub.
The spokesperson also shared that the CM has asked the administration to contact the Sindh government to shift the critically injured to Karachi.
According to Balochistan Health Secretary Abdullah Khan the bodies of the five people killed and 16 of the injured have been shifted to the Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi taking note of the incident expressed his sympathy and condolences with the families affected by the incident. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
The Shah Noorani shrine is located in a remote mountainous region about 200km away from Karachi.
In December of last year, a bus carrying pilgrims caught fire on its way from Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan’s Khuzdar to Karachi killing at least one passenger and injuring several others.
Back then the accident had also taken place in Hub district.
The accident had taken place near Lang Lohar near Sakran, Hub District, around 30 kilometres from the port city, as the vehicle’s engine heated up due to speeding and ignited flames.
The blaze burned the entire bus to ash before being doused.
Bus accidents are not uncommon in Pakistan, in November of 2023 a school bus fell into a ravine near the Shahdara area of Islamabad, killing a school teacher and injuring 20 passengers.
Police said that the pupils had been brought to the federal capital from
