12 killed, 40 injured in road accident in central Pakistan

At least 12 people were killed and some 40 others injured in a road accident that happened late Saturday night in Pakistan's central city of Deraghazi Khan, according to local media reports. Local Urdu TV channel ARY said that the accident took place at about 11:00 p.m. local time when a bus heading from Deraghazi Khan, a city along the Indus River in Punjab province, to Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, hit a truck on the Indus Highway in the Shah Wali area of Deraghazi Khan. Rescue team has arrived at the site shortly after the accident was reported. However, the rescue work is progressing slowly due to darkness in the area, said rescue workers. The cause of the accident is not known yet. Road accidents are almost routinely reported in Pakistan. Most of such accidents in the country are caused by overspeed, overloading, and poor vehicle and road conditions.