BOLAN: According to a statement issued by the Bolan Police, seven people were injured when a passenger wagon overturned on the national highway in the Quetta-Bolan area.
The wagon was traveling from Sibi to Quetta. Two of the injured were initially taken to Mach Hospital, while five others were directly shifted to Quetta.
The Medical Superintendent (MS) of Mach Hospital stated that after receiving emergency first aid at Mach Hospital, the two injured individuals were also referred to Quetta for further medical treatment.
The injured have been identified as Muhammad Muzammil, son of Muhammad Azam, and Muhammad Yaseen, son of Noor-ul-Haq, both residents of Sibi.
Road accidents in Balochistan have escalated into a profound humanitarian crisis, frequently claiming more lives than security incidents.
Vital trade corridors, most notably the Quetta-Karachi Highway (N-25), have earned the grim title of killer highways due to the staggering frequency of fatal crashes.
The roots of this crisis are multi-dimensional. Infrastructure deficits are a primary contributor, as the vast majority of Balochistan’s highways are narrow, single-carriageway roads that lack proper lane markings, lighting, and safety barriers, forcing heavy commercial freight and passenger traffic to share tight spaces. Human errors also play a major role, with widespread overspeeding, reckless overtaking, and driver fatigue stemming from long, unregulated hours behind the wheel.
Furthermore, regulatory gaps such as a lack of rigorous vehicle fitness inspections, lax enforcement of traffic laws, and sparse highway patrolling allow substandard vehicles to operate unchecked.
Compounding these hazards, the province’s sparse population density and vast geographical expanse mean that emergency medical services and trauma care centers are often located hours away.
This critical delay in evacuation routinely turns survivable injuries into fatalities.
Addressing this emergency requires urgent federal and provincial investment focused on dualizing major highways, enhancing traffic policing, and upgrading regional healthcare infrastructure.
