BAHAWALPUR: As many as 40 passengers, including 11 women, were injured, five of them seriously, when a coaster overturned on Bahawalpur-LodhranKhanewal highway, about 40kms from here, on Friday.

According to Rescue 1122 media coordinator Muhammad Safdar, the coaster carrying 40 passengers, was on its way to Sadigabad from Lahore.

When it reached near Khanewal bypass, Lodhran, it overturned, apparently due to speeding.

As a result, all the 40 passengers, including 11 women, were injured.

According to rescuers, who rushed to the sceneafter receipt of an emergency call, 15 of the passengers suffered bruises, cuts and spinal injuries, while the remaining 25 were provided first-aid on the spot and were shifted to the Lodhran District Headquarters Hospital.

Of the injured, five persons, including a 12-yearold boy, Tabraiz, of Lahore, who were stated to be in a serious condition, were shifted to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BV H).

On being informed of the accident, a team of Lodhran police also reached the scene.

The police said legal action would be taken against the coaster driver, who was also injured.

CHEMICAL SPILLS: Theleakage ofthousands of litres of liquid chemical from a tanker that hita trailer near Ahmedpur East toll plaza on the Karachi-LahorePeshawar (KLP) Highway, some 40kms from here, created panic among local population on Friday.

According to Ahmedpur East Rescue 1122 official, Abid Rahim, a tanker carrying 30,000 litres of caustic soda from Sitara Chemicals, Faisalabad, to Karachi, hit a trailer on the KLP Highway after its breaks failed.

As a result, the tanker`s driver was injured and the chemical started leaking from its tank.

On receipt of information, teams of Rescue 1122, police and National Highway & Motorway Police reached the spot and cordoned off the area, suspending thevehicular traffic on the road.

Meanwhile, the operation to shift the chemical to another tanker was started by a team of the private manufacturers coming from Rahim Yar Khan, that continued for several hours.

Mr Rahim said the Ahmedpur East police were taking action against the injured driver of the tanker.