20 killed after van falls into water-filled ditch in Pakistan's Sindh

Karachi: At least 20 people, including 12 children were killed after a van fell into a deep ditch filled with water in Pakistan's flood-hit Sindh province.

The incident took place on Thursday when the passenger van carrying devotees, including women and children, heading towards Sehwan Sharif from Khairpur in the province fell in a cut made for flood water at Indus Highway near Khairpur.

Twenty devotees, including 12 children, were killed and several others sustained injuries, Dunya TV reported.

According to the police, the bodies have been retrieved and shifted to Syed Abdullah Shah Institute Sehwan Sharif.

Police officer Imran Qureshi said the van was bringing passengers from the Khairpur district to a famous Sufi shrine in Sehwan.

A 30-feet-wide cut was made through Indus Highway to speed up the flow of water into the Indus River from areas that came under water as a result of earlier relief cuts two months ago.

Pakistan has seen unprecedented suffering because of the country's worst floods triggered by record rain in three decades. The floods killed more than 1,600 people and damaged roads and bridges.

Eyewitnesses said that the cut was not closed for two months due to the negligence of the National Highways Authority due to which the accident took place.

Former President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the tragic accident.

Sindh and Balochistan - the worst-hit regions - witnessed a 784 per cent and 496 per cent increase in the monsoon deluge. The rain in these two regions has exceeded the 30-year record for July this year.