Bus crash in southwest Pakistan kills at least 40 people
Officials said a passenger bus travelling from Quetta to Peshawar left a highway and fell into a ravine, injuring at least eight others.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
At least 40 people were killed after a passenger bus went off a highway and dropped into a ravine in southwestern Pakistan, officials said. The crash adds to the toll from dangerous road travel in remote mountainous areas, where rescue work can be difficult.
Sanaullah Sherani, head of the emergency centre in Zhob district, told AFP that the bus was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar when it fell in the mountainous Dana Sar area on Friday. Sherani said the vehicle dropped about 70 to 80 feet, or 21 to 24 metres, into the ravine.
Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government, told the Associated Press that the crash happened early Friday in a remote area near the border between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Rind said the speeding bus lost control before falling into a rocky ravine.
Officials say bus was overcrowded
Sherani and Rind both put the death toll at 40. Officials said at least eight other people were injured.
Rind told AP that the bus was carrying its own passengers as well as people from another bus that had broken down. He said that left the vehicle overcrowded at the time of the crash.
Rescue teams were working to identify the people who died, Rind said. Officials did not immediately provide the number of people who were on board or details on the condition of the injured.
The route linked Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, with Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The reported crash site in the Dana Sar area lies in mountainous terrain between the two provinces.
President offers condolences
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow over the crash, offered condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a quick recovery, according to the report.
Authorities had not announced further findings on the cause of the crash beyond Rind’s account that the vehicle was speeding and lost control. Officials also had not released the names of those killed.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.