PAKPATTAN, Nov 5 — At least 11 people were killed and 33 injured on Thursday when a passenger bus travelling from Multan to Kasur collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction on Depalpur Road near Pakpattan in Pakistan's Punjab province, Rescue 1122 said. The emergency service's spokesperson Umair Iqbal said the collision happened near a stop known as 17 SP Stop, the Express Tribune reported, and Pakistan Today carried the same account from the Rescue 1122 spokesperson.

Source: Express Tribune and Pakistan Today via KhabarWire

Rescue operation ran late into the night

Rescue teams used heavy machinery, including cranes, to free passengers trapped in the wreckage, Pakistan Today reported, and the operation was still under way late on Thursday night, the Express Tribune reported shortly before midnight. Independent Pakistan also reported 11 dead and 33 injured in the collision on Depalpur Road near Pakpattan, and Burak Digital reported that Deputy Commissioner Asif Raza and DPO Javed Iqbal reached the scene to supervise relief efforts while an emergency was declared at the District Headquarters Hospital.

Source: Pakistan Today via KhabarWire; Burak Digital

Among the dead were two uniformed personnel — Ali Hasnain of the Patrolling Police and Zahid Imam of the Para Force — according to the Express Tribune. Burak Digital likewise reported that personnel of the Para Force and the Punjab Highway Patrol were among the deceased.

Source: Express Tribune via KhabarWire

Chief minister seeks report; hospital emergency declared

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the deaths, sought a report on the collision and directed the district administration to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured, the Express Tribune reported. On her instructions, Pakpattan Deputy Commissioner Asif Raza went to the hospital, declared an emergency at the District Headquarters Hospital and called in additional doctors and medical staff, Pakistan Today reported. President Asif Ali Zardari and National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also expressed condolences and prayed for the recovery of the injured, the Express Tribune reported.

Source: Express Tribune and Pakistan Today via KhabarWire

One crash in a deadly provincial toll

The crash is the second in just over two weeks to kill 10 or more people on a road in Pakistan's Punjab, KhabarWire reported. Rescue 1122 recorded 44,797 road accidents across the province in October alone, with 464 people killed and 23,543 seriously injured, the Express Tribune reported, citing the emergency service's data; motorcycles were involved in nearly one-third of the crashes, and Lahore recorded the highest number with 7,874 incidents. The Express Tribune, citing road-safety experts, attributes the provincial toll in general to rash driving, rising vehicle ownership and inadequate pedestrian infrastructure — general explanations, not findings about Thursday's collision.

Source: Express Tribune via KhabarWire