20 feared drowned as tractor falls into canal in Pakistan

Islamabad, June 20 (IANS) At least 20 people were feared drowned when a tractor-trolley fell into a canal in Pakistan's Punjab province Friday, local media reported.

The tractor-trolley with some 50 people on board fell into the canal in Shorkot area, a town some 312 km from Punjab province's capital Lahore, Xinhua reported citing Dunya TV.

Rescue teams rushed to the spot following the accident and pulled out at least 30 people from the water while the search for 20 others is still going on.

Rescue workers said that 14 children and four women are among the missing people.

The rescued victims were shifted to a nearby hospital where at least seven of them were in critical condition, media reports quoted hospital sources as saying.

The cause of the accident has not been determined yet.

Pakistan is among the countries having the worst record of fatal traffic accidents, mainly due to poor roads, lack of driving skills, badly maintained vehicles and violation of road safety rules.

Traffic police officials say that human errors had caused 90 percent of the accidents in the country.

--Indo-Asian New Service

ab/bg