Quetta [Pakistan], December 22 (ANI): At least 11 Afghan nationals were killed and nine others injured after a pick-up vehicle collided with an oil tanker near the Nokundi area of Chagai district in Pakistan's Balochistan province, Dawn reported.

According to officials, the Afghan nationals were travelling in a pick-up while attempting to illegally migrate to Europe via Iran with the assistance of an organised human smuggling network. The vehicle, identified as an Iran-made Zamyad pick-up, was carrying 21 Afghan nationals who had crossed into Pakistan through a route commonly used by smugglers.

Police said the accident occurred late at night when the pick-up reached a remote Katcha area around 35 kilometres from Nokundi and collided head-on with an oil tanker travelling in the opposite direction. Eleven passengers died on the spot, while nine others sustained injuries.

Local residents and rescue teams rushed to the scene after being alerted in the early hours and recovered bodies from the wreckage. The injured and deceased were shifted to a nearby medical facility, Dawn reported.

'We received 11 bodies and nine injured in the district hospital of Nokundi,' Medical Officer Dr Nadir Khan of Nokundi hospital confirmed, adding that the injured were provided treatment in the hospital.

He further said the condition of all the injured was now stable.

Police officials said that all those killed and injured in the accident, except the driver, were Afghan nationals. After completing legal formalities and initial medical procedures, the injured and the bodies of the deceased were sent to Afghanistan through the Afghan border authorities.

Superintendent of Police of Chagai Mohammad Sharif confirmed the deaths and said the driver of the pick-up, identified as Khudanazar, son of Abdullah, was a resident of Taftan and died on the spot.

'After necessary legal procedures, the body of the driver has been sent to Taftan, while the remaining deceased and injured, all Afghan nationals, have been repatriated to Afghanistan,' he said.

Sharif added that investigations into the cause of the accident are underway, with preliminary findings indicating that speeding may have led to the collision. Police are examining all aspects to determine responsibility, Dawn reported.

The accident has once again drawn attention to the dangers of high-speed travel and heavy vehicular movement on highways in the border areas of Chagai, where fatal accidents have been reported with increasing frequency.

Meanwhile, two other people were killed in separate road accidents in Bolan and Sibi. Police said that in the Bolan Pass area, a truck struck a motorbike, killing both riders on the spot. Their bodies were later shifted to a nearby health facility. (ANI)