By Desmond Nleya
PAKISTAN-At least 32 people have been killed and 16 others injured after a passenger bus fell into a ravine in south-western Pakistan on Friday morning, officials said.
The accident occurred around 08:00 local time (03:00 GMT) when the bus was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and crashed in the Dana Sar mountain range along the border between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Authorities said a total of 48 passengers, including women and children, were on board at the time of the crash.
Officials at Zhob Hospital said preliminary reports suggest a possible steering failure caused the driver to lose control, sending the bus off the mountainous road and down an estimated 21–24 metres into the ravine.
Rescue teams were deployed to the remote crash site, but recovery operations were hampered by difficult terrain. The injured were transported to the District Headquarters Hospital in Zhob, about 68km from the scene, while the bodies of the deceased were taken there for identification before being returned to their hometowns.
Officials also said the bus may have been overloaded after taking on additional passengers from a broken-down vehicle earlier on the route.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said an investigation has been launched into the cause of the crash.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences to the families of the victims, while Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ordered a formal inquiry and promised medical support for the injured.
Road accidents are frequent in Pakistan, often attributed to poor road conditions, reckless driving and poorly maintained vehicles. In a similar incident in 2024, at least 17 pilgrims were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine in Balochistan.
Source: BBC
