9 killed, 11 injured in truck collision in KP’s Karak: rescue officials

Nine people were killed and 11 others were wounded when a large truck ploughed into pedestrians and other vehicles in Karak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday, a Rescue official told Dawn.com.

According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson Asif Khattak, the incident occurred at Amberi Kalay Chowk on the Karak Indus Highway when a speeding truck crashed into a crowd of pedestrians and other vehicles due to brake failure.

“Nine people were killed while 11 others were injured,” Khattak told Dawn.com. “The casualties were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Karak by a Rescue 1122 team.”

Hospital administration informed Dawn.com that the injured are being treated at DHQ Hospital, while six people in critical condition have been referred to Peshawar.

A woman and a four-year-old child were among the dead, according to hospital administration.

In March last year, at least eight passengers, including women and children, died after a pickup truck fell into a gorge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Buner.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Niaz Muhammad Khan told Dawn.com that the pickup truck was travelling from Buner’s Sawari area to Shangrai Kandao when it suffered the fatal accident.

He said it seemed that either the driver lost control of the steering wheel or there was a technical fault in the pickup, resulting in the vehicle falling into a 1600-foot-deep gorge from the rough dilapidated road.