11 killed in head-on crash of coaches in Pakistan

At least 11 persons, including women, were killed and nine others injured in a road accident in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, officials said.

The accident took place when two passenger coaches collided with each other and fell down to a ravine in Shaheed More area of Malakand, Malakand Deputy Commissioner Syed Zafar Ali Shah was quoted by local media as saying.

"Eleven persons, including five women and a child, died on the spot and nine others suffered critical injuries," the official said.

According to him, the speeding coaches coming from opposite directions collided head-on on a narrow road of the hilly area.

Police and rescue teams rushed to site and shifted the bodies and injured to the District Headquarters Hospital in Malakand.

Hospital officials said the number of deaths might rise as five of the injured are in a critical condition.

Road accidents frequently happen in Pakistan due to poorly maintained roads, violation of road safety rules and reckless driving.

According to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, every year over 9,000 road accidents are reported in the country, killing on average around 5,000 persons annually.

Traffic police officials said 90 per cent of the accidents in Pakistan are caused by human error.

--IANS

ahm/vt