Two brothers killed in Karachi trailer accident while heading to collect Eid clothes


Teenagers’ deaths near Karimabad spark grief and renewed outrage over heavy vehicle safety in the city

Victims, aged 16 and 17, on a motorcycle were run over near Karimabad furniture market; family demands action against heavy vehicles. PHOTO: EXPRESS


KARACHI:

Two teenage brothers were killed after a trailer ran over their motorcycle near the furniture market in the Karimabad area of Karachi, turning a household preparing for Eid into one of mourning.

According to police and rescue officials, the incident occurred near Ayesha Manzil’s furniture market when a trailer hit a motorcycle carrying the brothers. Both were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital by a Chhipa Welfare Association ambulance, where they later succumbed to their injuries during treatment.

The deceased were identified as Atif, 17, and Tabish, 16, sons of Mahmood and residents of Federal B Area Block 16 near the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases. Family members said the brothers were on their way to collect their Eid clothes from a tailor when the accident occurred.

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A neighbour said the boys’ home had turned from happiness to grief ahead of Eid. “They were going to pick up their Eid clothes when a dumper ran them over. The dumper mafia is crushing Karachi’s residents. People are dying on the roads but no one asks questions. This family deserves justice,” he said.

Their father, who works as a Grade-2 employee at a government college, said the family did not currently have the financial means to transport the bodies to their ancestral town in Hafizabad for burial.

“My children had gone out shopping. Action should be taken against those responsible for the accident,” he said, adding that he has four sons and one daughter. “We want to take the bodies to our ancestral area but we will first arrange the money and then perform the burial.”

The boys’ mother, speaking through tears, said her sons had been studying in school while learning air-conditioning and refrigerator repair work for the past three years and earned around Rs200 a day.

“They had gone to collect their Eid clothes from the tailor. At the time of the accident, the tailor’s receipt was still in my son’s pocket. The tailor was the first to learn about the accident and informed us,” she said.

“I raised and educated them through sewing. Dumper drivers snatched away my two sons. I want justice,” she added, saying the family wanted to take the bodies to Hafizabad in Punjab for burial.

Their elder brother said the two were among the younger siblings living with their parents. “Cargo vehicles have become the enemy of Karachi’s citizens. Just before Eid, our house has turned into a place of mourning,” he said, demanding strict action against the trailer driver, who fled the scene.

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Another traffic fatality

In a separate incident, a man was killed and another injured in a traffic accident on Baloch Colony Bridge in the Tipu Sultan area. Rescue officials said the victims were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre by an Edhi Foundation ambulance. Witnesses said a vehicle hit a Suzuki pickup while it was climbing the bridge, causing two passengers to fall onto the road. A tanker coming from behind then ran over them. The identity of the deceased could not be immediately ascertained.

With additional input from Aamir Khan

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