19 children killed in bus crash on school trip in Pakistan

At least 21 people, including 19 children, were killed when a school bus smashed head-on into a truck in Pakistan.

The bus collided with the loaded dump-truck near the town of Nawabshah, around 270 kilometres north of Karachi in the southern province of Sindh.

The children, who were students of the Bright Future School from the nearby town of Daulatpur, had come to Nawabshah for a school trip.

Their bus was on its way back to Daulatpur when the accident happened.

Doctor Hashim Langa, chief of the government-run Civil Hospital in Nawabshah, said the hospital had received 21 dead bodies, of which 19 were children.

"Their ages range from five or six to 16," he said.

There were also between 15 and 20 people injured and they were brought to the hospital, he added.

Police said reckless driving might have caused the tragic accident.

They said they were trying to locate the truck driver, who fled the scene.

"We are investigating the reasons, but apparently it must have been irresponsible driving by one of the drivers," senior police officer Asif Ali Pechuho said.

The driver of the bus was among the dead, he added.

He said the bus was so badly wrecked that rescue workers had to use tools to extract bodies.

Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for fatal traffic accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Multiple-casualty accidents are common.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-15/19-children-killed-in-bus-crash-on-school-trip-in-pakistan/5202282