11 dead, 40 injured in wedding party bus fire

At least 11 people including children and women were burnt to death and 40 others injured as a bus carrying wedding guests caught fire when a metal box containing dowry goods kept on the roof of the bus struck with 11,000 KVA wire on Indus Highway near Khairpur Nathan Shah area of district Dadu on Sunday.

The bus was carrying the wedding party to Karachi from Dadu. The dead reportedly included seven women and three children. The deceased and injured were shifted to Mahr and Larkana hospitals.

Around 32 people are critically injured and are being treated for burns in various hospitals in the area while two, who were less-critically injured, are being treated at the Khairpur Nathan Shah Hospital (KNSH), doctors said.

According to hospital sources, KNSH did not have doctors in emergency and has no burn ward. Those who were critically injured had to be shifted to other hospitals as adequate arrangements were not available at KNSH.

Around 15 injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Dadu which does not have a burn ward, but did have doctors available while another 15 were shifted to LarkanaMedicalUniversityHospital where there is a burn ward. Two were shifted to People’s MedicalUniversityHospital, Nawabshah.

Chief Casualty Medical Officer In-charge Dr Hafiz Gulab Morio said seven injured arrived at CMCH, including 55-year Beebul, wife of Abdul Majeed Babar, eight-year-old girl, Sakina, daughter of Sikander Babar, eight-year-old girl, Khalida, daughter of Nazir Ahmed, seven-year-old boy, Shahzaib, son of Azam Babar, 14-year-old girl, Perveena, daughter of Sikandar Babar and Aamir, son Dhani Bux.

Dr Morio said that 10-year-old boy Farhan, son of Majeed Babar, was brought dead to CMCH. He said that condition of two kids, Khalida and Shahzaib is serious.

The heirs of the deceased told reporters in Larkana that high tension electricity wires were very loose, for which WAPDA officials should be taken to task. They added that the death toll also rose because of late arrival of ambulances from Dadu and nearby hospitals. They said that the only ambulance at KN ShahTalukaHospital was out-of-order.

Dadu Civil Surgeon Dr Insaf Magsi said that eight injured persons arrived in civil hospital, out of which seven have been shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi on the directives of Health Secretary Dr Saeed Mangnejo where they will be admitted for treatment in the burns ward as there is no burns ward in Dadu. These injured include Khamiso Khan, Hassan Ali, Majid Ali, Hurmat, Tasleem, Phapul and Ghulam Qadir.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have expressed their sorrow over the tragic incident. Sharif directed authorities to take preventive measures to stop such incidents in future. They expressed sympathies with the bereaved families, directed authorities for providing best medical facilities to the injured persons.