Islamabad, May 30: At least 28 people, including women and children, were killed and 22 others injured in Pakistan when a passenger bus veered off the road and fell into a ravine in the remote Balochistan province on Wednesday.
The bus, heading from Turbat to Quetta, fell into the ravine near Washuk town, around 700 kilometres from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
Assistant Commissioner (AC) Ismail Mengal confirmed that six people died on the spot while 22 others died while being taken to the hospital or while under treatment.
“Apparently a tyre of the passenger bus burst on a curve and the driver lost control of the vehicle which plunged into a deep ravine,” Mengal said.
Earlier reports said the accident was a result of overspeeding.
Three women and three children were also among the deceased, Mengal said.
He said the rescue operation was still going on as there were around 50 passengers on the bus but there could be more.
He said some of the injured were in critical condition and the death toll could rise.
Nine of the injured were in critical condition and transferred to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Khuzdar.
The Pakistan Army was requested to airlift four other passengers in critical condition to Quetta via helicopter to be admitted to the trauma centre.
According to Mengal, most of the deceased have not been identified yet.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences over the incident and prayed for the departed souls.
He also directed the authorities concerned to assist the injured.
Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti offered his condolences over the loss of lives in the horrific accident and prayed for those who were wounded.
The chief minister also instructed the officials to provide the best medical facilities to the injured and prayed for their speedy recovery.
Road accidents are common in Pakistan where traffic rules and safety standards are hardly followed.
Eight members of a family, including four women and three children, died on Monday after a mini jeep in which they were travelling fell into a hundred-foot-deep ravine in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
On May 18, at least 13 people belonging to the same family were killed and nine others were injured as a truck plunged into a ditch in Punjab’s Khushab district.
On May 3, at least 20 people lost their lives while 21 others sustained injuries after a passenger bus veered off a narrow mountain road and plummeted into a ravine in Gilgit Baltistan.
