Bus, oil tanker collision kills 9 on a Pakistani highway

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani police say a passenger bus has collided head on with an oil tanker on an inter-city highway, killing nine people and injuring 30.

A police officer says the accident took place near the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Abdus Shakoor says the bus was on its way back to Narowal district early on Monday carrying people who had visited a shrine in Islamabad.

He says the bus driver attempted to overtake another vehicle, then collided with the tanker on a bridge in the Gujjar Khan area.

Shakoor says seven of the passengers, including women and children, died on the spot while two others died at a hospital.

Deadly road accidents are common on Pakistan’s poorly maintained roads where motorists commonly disregard traffic rules and safety standards.