Nokundi: 11 Afghans lost their lives in a car accident near
Nokundi: A pickup truck and an oil tanker crashed close to the Nokundi neighborhood of the Chagai district in Pakistan’s Balochistan region, killing at least 11 Afghan nationals and injuring nine more, according to Dawn.
Officials claim that the Afghan nationals were trying to enter Europe illegally via Iran with the help of a network of organized people smugglers while traveling in a pick-up. The automobile, a Zamyad pickup manufactured in Iran, was transporting 21 Afghan people who had entered Pakistan via a smuggler’s usual route.
According to police, the accident happened late at night when the pick-up arrived in a rural Katcha location about 35 kilometers from Nokundi and struck an oil tanker that was heading in the other way. Nine passengers were injured, and eleven people immediately perished.
After being notified in the early hours, locals and rescue personnel raced to the area and retrieved victims from the debris. According to Dawn, the dead and wounded were sent to a neighboring hospital.
Medical Officer Dr. Nadir Khan of Nokundi Hospital said, “We received 11 bodies and nine injured in the district hospital of Nokundi,” adding that the hospital treated the injured.
He said that every wounded person’s condition was now stable.
Except for the driver, all of the people killed and wounded in the collision were Afghan nationals, according to police sources. The corpses of the dead and the wounded were transported to Afghanistan via Afghan border officials after completing preliminary medical treatment and legal requirements.
The driver of the pick-up, Khudanazar, son of Abdullah, was a native of Taftan and died immediately, according to Chagai Superintendent of Police Mohammad Sharif, who verified the fatalities.
“After necessary legal procedures, the body of the driver has been sent to Taftan, while the remaining deceased and injured, all Afghan nationals, have been repatriated to Afghanistan,” stated the official.
Investigations into the accident’s cause are ongoing, according to Sharif, and preliminary results suggest that speeding may have contributed to the incident. According to Dawn, police are looking into every detail to identify who is responsible.
The incident has once again highlighted the risks associated with heavy vehicle traffic and high-speed driving on roads in Chagai’s border regions, where tragic collisions are becoming more common.
In the meanwhile, other traffic incidents in Bolan and Sibi claimed the lives of two further persons. According to police, a vehicle hit a motorcycle in the Bolan Pass region, instantly killing both riders. Later, their remains were sent to a local medical institution.