DHAKA: At least 25 people were killed, 69 injured when two passenger buses collided head-on in central Pakistan on Monday.

The accident, which occurred on a dangerous curve in Khanpur town in Rahim Yar Khan district, was likely caused by speeding, reports the ABC news.

Several children, college students and women were among the victims.

Police official Jamshid Shah said police and rescue officials were using cutters to retrieve bodies trapped inside the two buses.

Dr. Tasleem Kamran at a government hospital said the injured were being treated.

Nearly 40 were reported to be in critical condition, she said.

“We have declared an emergency. We desperately need blood,” she said.

Local TV footage showed ambulances and rescue officials rushing the injured persons to hospitals.

Before the rescuers and police arrived, townspeople reached the scene after hearing the sound of the crash and started pulling the victims out of the wreckage.

Jamila Bibi, 60, was travelling in one of the buses, taking her 9-year-old son Faisal Ali at his school.

The driver was reckless, Bibi said. “We protested and asked him to slow down,”

At one point, all the passengers stood up and asked the driver to slow down or halt, but he did not listen to anyone.

Instead, she said, the driver told the passengers that anyone who was afraid could get off the vehicle.

Bibi suffered minor injuries but said that her son was badly injured and was fighting for his life.

Deadly road accidents are common in Pakistan, mainly because of bad road infrastructure and reckless driving.

BDST: 1716 HRS, OCT 17, 2016
NJ/BD