Families of almost all victim of the Saturday tragic accident on the RCD Highway near Hub are anxiously waiting for the identification of the bodies of their loved ones so that they could take the coffins home for burial. But, it appears that their wait is not going to be over anytime soon.
At least 36 people were killed when two passenger coaches and a pickup rammed into an overturned truck on the RCD Highway near Hub. All the vehicles caught fire after the collision since at least one coach and the truck were allegedly carrying oil smuggled from Iran. The bodies of all the victims, some of them said to be employees of Pakistan Navy, were charred beyond recognition.
Family members of the accident victims continued to camp outside the Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth, where the bodies were taken from the site of the accident, for a second consecutive day on Sunday. The mourners were just waiting for authorities’ nod to take the bodies of their loved ones for burial.
However, the body of one of the 36 victims was identified and handed over to his family on Sunday, while samples had been taken from the remaining 35 bodies for carrying out DNA tests for identification.
“Only one body was handed over to a victim family,” said Anwar Kazmi of the Edhi Foundation. “That particular body was recognisable to some extent. Health officials are taking DNA samples to identify remaining 35 victims. They have sent samples to a forensic laboratory in Islamabad and the process may take 10 to 15 days to complete.”
Meanwhile, there was no word from any official over the core issue of oil smuggling or to trace key players behind the illegal transportation of the smuggled Iranian oil, which has become a regular feature of Karachi-Balochistan buss.
“We have enhanced patrolling in areas under our jurisdiction and we are not allowing a single vehicle carrying (smuggled) oil,” said DPO Cheema. “We are also coordinating with all agencies concerned which include anti-smuggling bodies so that no such incident recurs due to any negligence.”
Monday 24 March 2014
http://www.dawn.com/news/1095122/dna-samples-taken-35-bodies-of-hub-tragedy-yet-to-be-identified
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