HYDERABAD- Six people were killed in a road accident on the Super Highway near Dadabhoy Cement Factory when a truck rammed into a wagon.
Those killed were in the wagon, which was carrying the bundles of daily Dawn and Star from Karachi to Hyderabad. The trucker had allegedly switched off the lights of the truck to escape police detection and was trying to cross the highway from the wrong side.
The accident occurred at about 4:30am. Police check post No 7 is located just near the scene of the accident but the police failed to take notice of the accident and the driver drove his truck away. The wagon was totally smashed and the driver Mohammad Ilyas, 40, and his brother Mohammad Qasim, 30, were killed on the spot. Both were on the front seat.
The wagon driver had also picked up six passengers from Karachi, who were asleep on the bundles of the newspapers. Four of them died in the accident. They were identified as Mohammad Aslam (25), Jethiyo (25), Bashir Ahmad (38), and Abdul Hameed (45). They were residents of Hyderabad. The injured were identified as Abdul Majeed Soomro and Mohammad Ibrahim Soomro who were cousins. They are also residents of Hyderabad and had boarded the wagon in Sabzi Mandi, Karachi.
Edhi volunteers brought the victims to the LMC hospital, city branch. Majeed Soomro was discharged but Ibrahim Soomro was admitted to the surgical ward.
The bodies of llyas and his brother Qasim were shifted to Khursheed town Edhi centre, at Hala Naka, where their funeral prayers were offered.
After hearing the news, Khwaja Kaleem, the circulation manager of Dawn came from Karachi to Hyderabad. He visited the LMC hospital and the Edhi centre with L.S. Thadani, regional officer; Dawn, Latif, Dawn’s newspaper agent; and Syed Afzal Shah, president of the All Pakistan Akhbar Farosh Federation.
He arranged two vehicles on behalf of Dawn management in which the bodies of llyas and Qasim were transported to Attock. About 18 members their families accompanied the bodies in the same vehicles.
Source: Dawn
Date:11/12/2000
