At least 18 people returning from a wedding function were killed when a speeding trailer truck rammed into a parked bus in Pakistan's southern Sindh province early today, police and rescue officials said.
Another 30 people suffered injuries and have been hospitalised, they said.
The accident took place in Hala area of Hyderabad district. The bus was parked along a national highway to change a deflated tyre when the trailer truck rammed into it from behind, the police said.
The police said 18 people were killed in the accident.
The victims were all residents of Hyderabad and were returning from Sakrand, where they had gone to attend the wedding, officials said.
Officials at the Edhi ambulance service said that they shifted 30 injured to Hala and Hyderabad civil hospitals. Six people were critically injured.
"The impact was so strong that it killed 15 people on the spot, including five members of the same family," an official of the Edhi Trust said.
"The total casualties are now 18, while 11 have been seriously injured and rushed to a hospital in Hyderabad," he said.
The official said that it took some time for the rescue teams and police to clear the badly damaged bus and remove the bodies before rushing the injured to hospital.
According to reports, cranes were being used to lift the wreck as rescue officials feared more people could be trapped underneath it.
Road accidents are common in Pakistan. Most of them are caused due to reckless driving, bad roads and absence of law personnel to check over-speeding.
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