MULTAN/RAHIM YAR KHAN -  Nine persons including three children were killed in two tragic road accidents occurred in Shjuabad and Rahim Yar Khan here on Saturday.

In Multan, five labourers were crushed to death and two others injured in a tragic accident in Shujabad just ahead of inauguration of Multan-Sukkur Motorway here on Saturday.

According to police and rescue sources, the deceased were killed by an out of control dumper and the driver of the killer vehicle was arrested by police.

Police said that construction work was being given final touches at the Daad Interchange as the Prime Minister had to inaugurate the Motorway when the tragic accident took place Saturday morning. Three of the deceased died on the spot while two others breathed their last in the hospital. The police have impounded the vehicle and registered a case against the driver who was arrested.

In Rahim Yar Khan, four persons were killed and two others got injured when a container-laden trailer overturned and ploughed into nearby huts on national highway near Taranda Muhammad Pannah in Tehsil Liaqatpur, some 92km from here on Saturday.

According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson Adnan Shabbir, a container-laden trailer (TMA-422) was on the way from Lahore to Karachi. When it reached near National Highway and Motorway Police office, it overturned and ploughed into nearby huts in early hours of Saturday. As a result, Shabana 25; Amna 2; Fatima 1; and Hassan, 7, died on the spot while 26-year-old Abdul Khaliq and three-year-old Hussain sustained injuries. The police said both the deceased and injured persons are residents of Bahawalpur. Rescue personals shifted the injured and bodies to Rural Health Centre Taranda Muhammad Pannah. The police have launched investigation into the incident.