Police say brake failure likely caused the fatal accident. Driver, helper arrested; tanker impounded after crash. 214 road deaths in Karachi in under three months.
KARACHI: In a heart-wrenching accident that underscores Karachi’s growing road safety crisis, a speeding water tanker claimed the lives of a young couple and their unborn child near Malir Halt on Monday, The News reported on Tuesday.
Abdul Qayyum, 26, was riding a motorcycle with his pregnant wife Zainab, 24, en route to a hospital for a medical check-up when the tragic incident occurred.
The water tanker, reportedly coming from the Malir Halt bridge at high speed, rammed into the motorbike, killing the couple. The collision also caused Zainab to deliver prematurely; the baby died minutes later.
Police said the accident likely occurred due to the brake failure of the water tanker. After the incident, bystanders attempted to set the vehicle ablaze but law enforcement intervened and impounded the tanker.
According to Korangi SSP Tariq Nawaz, the driver and the helper were arrested. A case has been registered at the Model Colony Police Station on the complaint of Abdul Razzaq, the brother of the deceased Abdul Qayyum.
Funeral prayers for the victims were offered at Jamia Masjid Siddiqia in Natha Khan Goth. The ceremony was attended by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Emir Monem Zafar and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Haleem Adil Sheikh and Alamgir Khan.
Qayyum’s brother, Mohammad Sohail, said the couple had been married for just over a year and were awaiting the birth of their first child. He said the ill-fated couple never got to see their child. They were on their way home from Kohi Goth.
Qayyum was a government employee with the Cantonment Board Malir and a resident of Malir Cantt. Sohail urged the authorities to take action against reckless tanker drivers and the “tanker mafia” operating across Karachi’s roads unchecked. “The government should rein in the tanker mafia, no other family should be crushed like this.”
The latest fatality adds to a grim tally: At least 214 people have lost their lives in road accidents in Karachi in less than three months, including 68 deaths attributed to heavy vehicles such as tankers and trailers.
Zafar, while speaking to the media, expressed deep sorrow over the tragic traffic accident.
He questioned the absence of the chief minister and other ministers, criticising them for failing to offer condolences to the bereaved families.
The JI leader announced that a protest would be held at the same location where the accident took place, reaffirming his party’s commitment to standing with the people of Karachi.
“We will never abandon the citizens of Karachi,” he said. The protest is scheduled for 4pm today at Malir Halt.
Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Dr Farooq Sattar also expressed profound grief over the incident. “Words fail me after witnessing such a tragedy,” he said.
Dr Sattar lamented that tanker and dumper mafias have taken control of the city, operating without accountability.
“Even the jungle has laws, yet here, powerful individuals have established their own fiefdoms,” he remarked, criticising the lawlessness prevailing in Karachi.