At least 16 killed in Pakistan traffic collision

Officials say 17 people were also injured when a truck hit a parked passenger bus carrying wedding guests in southern Sindh province.

Police officers and volunteers inspect the wreckage of a vehicular accident in Matiarai, near Hyderabad in southern Pakistan.
AP

Police officers and volunteers inspect the wreckage of a vehicular accident in Matiarai, near Hyderabad in southern Pakistan.

At least 16 people were killed and 17 others injured when a truck crashed into a parked bus in southern Pakistan on Monday, in the latest fatal collision on the country's notoriously dangerous roads. 

The long-haul truck slammed into the back of the bus, which was parked on the side of the highway with a flat tyre, before dawn in the town of Matiarai in southern Sindh province.

Several passengers were on the side of the road during the incident as the driver sought help to change the tyre, while others were waiting inside the vehicle. 

"The women and children still in the bus suffered the brunt of the collision," local police officer Zahid Ali Shah said.

Another police official Mohammad Tahir said 17 people were injured in the crash and some were in a critical condition.

'Reckless driving' blamed

"It seems to be an incident of reckless driving," Shah said, adding the truck driver fled the scene of the crash.

TV footage showed badly damaged bus and ambulances transporting bodies and injured to hospitals.

Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for fatal traffic accidents, many of them blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

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