Pakistan motorway safety crisis deepens after horrific bus crash near Bhera leaves 13 injured

ISLAMABAD: Highlighting persistent infrastructure flaws, civic mismanagement and rising public safety risks across Pakistan, a series of road mishaps, structural failures and urban flooding incidents have hit Sargodha, as reported by Dawn.

In a major road accident on the M2 Motorway near the Bhera interchange, a bus transporting pilgrims lost control and collided with a stationary vehicle parked along the roadside for a tyre replacement, causing the passenger bus to overturn.

As many as 13 individuals suffered serious injuries on Saturday, including Raees, Mukhtar, Muhammad Sami, Faizan Ijaz, Ali Waris, Qamar Zulfiqar, Mahmood Hassan, Tasavur Ijaz, Nadeem, Zaheer Ahmed, Usman Ali, Shoaib and Muhammad Iqbal, Dawn reported.

Rescue 1122 personnel administered initial emergency care before moving five critically injured victims to a healthcare facility, while local authorities launched an investigation.

Exposing severe administrative lapses and corrupt practices in public infrastructure, the Sargodha deputy commissioner raised grave concerns regarding substandard materials and flawed execution in the city’s bazaar beautification campaign, where newly laid pavements collapsed and storm run-off flooded shop basements after monsoon rains.

According to Dawn, official representatives from the deputy commissioner’s office claimed that no leniency would be tolerated regarding malpractice, pledging that structural defects in urban planning would be addressed to enforce quality standards.

Meanwhile, regional administrators, including Sargodha Division Commissioner Hafiz Shaukat Ali, alongside municipal, highway and water sanitation leadership, inspected various municipal sites, reviewing dilapidated road networks, failing drainage infrastructure and neglected civic utilities.

The commissioner inspected ongoing development projects at the Sillanwali disposal station, Eidgah disposal station, City Road and Shaheen Chowk, issuing instructions to field officers to expedite works using durable materials, while directing water management agencies to maintain operational disposal pumps to prevent urban paralysis during heavy rainfall.

In another incident exposing housing safety vulnerabilities, two siblings, 18-year-old Samin Ashraf and 20-year-old Farwa Ashraf, were gravely injured when the roof of their residence in Moradabad Colony Gali 12 collapsed at midnight following heavy downpour.

The structure, constructed with traditional TR girders, caved in suddenly, trapping both victims under heavy rubble before they were extracted and rushed to a private medical centre.

Further pointing to mounting climate vulnerability and weak disaster prevention measures, rising water levels in the Chenab and Jhelum rivers flooded surrounding banks, destroying agricultural land and threatening rural populations, Dawn reported.

Emergency teams safely evacuated approximately three dozen residents from inundated zones to safer locations, while local authorities claimed that mock flood drills had been conducted earlier to bolster inter-agency readiness. (ANI)