A passenger bus carrying 48 people plunged into an 80-foot rocky ravine in southwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 40 people and injuring eight. The vehicle was speeding before it went out of control and fell into the ravine in Dana Sar, a remote area near the border of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
A spokesperson for the Balochistan government, Shahid Rind, stated that the bus was overcrowded because it was also carrying passengers from another bus that had broken down. Rescuers worked for hours to reach the wreckage, climbing down the steep mountainside to the ravine. They transported the injured and the dead back up the rugged slope.
One injured survivor told local media that some passengers had protested when the driver stopped to pick up people from the disabled bus. An argument ensued, during which a passenger allegedly grabbed the driver by the neck. The survivor claimed that the driver then lost control of the bus.
Police are investigating the cause of the incident, and the account from the survivor could not be independently verified.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow over the crash and offered condolences to the victims' families. Road accidents are a frequent occurrence in Pakistan, often attributed to poor road conditions, insufficient traffic law enforcement, and unsafe driving practices, particularly in mountainous regions. In May, a similar accident in northwest Pakistan involving a bus collision killed 17 people.