Eight people were killed and 13 were injured in two separate road accidents in Punjab, rescue officials said on Saturday.
In Toba Tek Singh, three members of the same family died and nine others were hurt when a passenger van overturned after colliding with a truck on the M3 Motorway near the Rajana Interchange.
Rescue officials said the van was travelling from Multan to Lahore’s Data Darbar when it struck a vegetable-laden truck during the night between Friday and Saturday, causing the vehicle to flip.
Three, including two women and a one-year-old child, died on the spot, while nine who were injured were later shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Toba Tek Singh.
Police and motorway authorities said speeding led to the crash.
Meanwhile, in Gujranwala, five people were killed and four others injured when a truck collided with a van on Hafizabad Road.
The tragic incidents have once again highlighted road safety concerns in the country, where accidents are frequent due to poor infrastructure, speeding, and overloading of vehicles.
Earlier this month, seven nomads, including six family members, were killed and six others injured when a high-speed truck ran over workers sleeping on the roadside near Kuddan Hotel, Shikarpur.
According to reports, the truck, loaded with vegetables, collided with an electric pole before veering out of control and crashing into the nomads’ camp. The accident resulted in seven workers dying at the scene, while six others sustained injuries.
Police stated that the tragedy occurred due to the driver losing control of the vehicle, with initial investigations pointing to excessive speed as the cause.
The incident follows two separate accidents in Balochistan earlier the same week, which claimed at least 13 lives, including women and children, and left scores injured.
Local authorities reported that six people lost their lives and 17 others were seriously injured when a passenger coach rammed into an oncoming truck near Zero Point in Lasbela’s Uthal.
In the other incident, seven people died and 16 were hurt after a coach crashed in Hub-Winder.
Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan, where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads in many rural areas are in poor condition.
