THATTA: Six labourers were killed and more than 15 others injured when a tractor-trolley carrying workers struck electricity wires near Pir Jogoth, close to Thatta.
The deceased were identified as Allah Dino, Sikandar, Fareeda, Hanif, Mukhtiar and Nazia. Three of the six were women. All belonged to the labourer class and were returning home from agricultural work at the time of the accident.
According to eyewitnesses, ambulances did not reach the site in time. Local villagers stepped in, moving the dead and the injured to Civil Hospital Makli in Suzuki pickups arranged at their own expense. The response gap has become the central grievance in the aftermath, with residents saying the delay cost critical minutes for those who were badly hurt.
The accident has plunged the surrounding villages into mourning. Residents have demanded immediate and improved medical facilities for the injured, a thorough investigation into how the accident occurred, and action against those found responsible.
Tractor-trolleys remain one of the most common ways of moving agricultural labour across rural Sindh, despite being built to haul crops and equipment rather than passengers. Workers travel standing or seated on open trolleys with no restraints and no protection, and the height of a loaded trolley leaves it exposed to low-hanging overhead cables on unmetalled field roads. Rural districts also depend on thin emergency cover, which is why villagers so often become the first responders, as they did near Pir Jogoth.
The circumstances of the accident, including the height and condition of the electricity lines at the site, are yet to be established by the authorities.
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