Lahore: Two people were killed and several injured in two separate traffic accidents due to heavy fog in Punjab province, said motorway and police officials.
Eight cars collided on the motorway near Madh Ranjha, Sargodha on Saturday, due to heavy fog. One passenger killed and 10 others injured in the accident. The injured were shifted to the hospital immediately. The visibility range in the city and outskirts was less than 100 meters, while the power supply also suspended, police said.
In a separate traffic accident, one passenger killed and 2 injured when a car and motorcycle collided in Kamalia.
Punjab and different parts of the country comes under a heavy fog on the arrival of the winter, which affected both the traffic and flight schedule. 70 to 80 meters visibility range was recorded from Lahore to Bhera on Friday. The visibility range in Jhang and Toba Tek Singh was recorded 10 meters, while in Layya, Noorpur Thal, Sahiwal, Rahim Yaar Kham and Bhakkar 100 meters. This range was zero in Gujrah and outskirts. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province also saw the heavy fog, where from N1 motorway Peshawar to Rashakai the visibility range kept only 10 to 20 meters. The traffic in all these areas has been affecred, said the Motorway officials.
Due to less visibility, the cars traveling from Lahore to Islamabad started their journey in a motorcade, said motorway officials. Police has instructed the passengers to travel in motorcades in moderate speed, while the drivers must keep the lights on, it said.
According to Meteorological Department, in plain areas of Punjab the fog is expected at morning and nights, while Multan, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Lahore will suffer from the heavy fog in coming days. The weather will remain dry during next 12 hours, it said.
“There was heavy fog in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces also. It affected traffic in Hub, Baluchistan and in Karachi Sindh. The Upper Sindh expected more in the next 12 hours,” The Meteorological Department warned.