Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has announced financial assistance for deceased and injured residents of the province after a passenger bus travelling from Quetta to Peshawar met with an accident in Sherani district of Balochistan.
The tragic accident occurred near Dana Sar on the Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border and claimed the lives of 40 passengers.
Chief Minister Afridi announced that the heirs of each deceased person from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will receive financial assistance of Rs2.2 million. Each injured person from the province will be provided Rs1 million in financial assistance.
The chief minister directed the relevant authorities to complete all necessary procedures without delay.
Also Read: Bus accident toll rises to 40 in KP's Dana Sar crash
Afridi said no delay would be tolerated in providing assistance to the affected families. He said the provincial government stands with the bereaved families in this hour of grief.
Six members of one family die
Six members of the same family from Badaber, a suburb of Peshawar, were among those who lost their lives in the bus accident. The deceased included one man, three women and two children.
Naushad, a 68-year-old resident of Badaber, said his son Abdullah had gone to Quetta with his family a week ago. He said Abdullah bought bus tickets on Thursday to return to Peshawar.
Naushad said he last spoke to his family at around 12am, when they were travelling in the bus. According to him, his son, two daughters, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren died in the accident.
Meanwhile, an injured passenger in the Balochistan bus crash has claimed that the driver had a heated argument with passengers over diesel before the accident and allegedly threatened them during the exchange.
Also Read: Driver's threat preceded Balochistan bus crash: Passenger
Speaking to Samaa TV, the injured passenger said the bus was scheduled to depart at 4pm but did not leave until 6pm. He alleged that the driver's behaviour towards passengers was inappropriate throughout the journey.
Passenger urges FC to clear bus after diesel seizure
The passenger said the bus was stopped at an FC checkpoint, where officials found an excessive quantity of diesel on board. He said an elderly passenger got off the bus and asked FC personnel that, if the issue concerned diesel smuggling, they should remove the fuel and allow the bus to continue so that passengers could reach their homes.
According to the passenger, FC officials removed six cans of diesel before allowing the bus to proceed.
