40 killed, 8 injured as passenger bus falls into ravine near Balochistan-KP border

QUETTA: Forty people were killed and eight others injured when a Peshawar-bound passenger bus fell into a ravine just as it left the Dhanasar area of Balochistan’s Sherani district and crossed the provincial border into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan on Friday, officials said.

The number of casualties was first shared in a statement by the Balochistan chief minister’s aide for media and political affairs, Shahid Rind, who cited initial reports. It was later also confirmed by the KP Rescue 112.

Rind’s statement said rescue efforts were initiated soon after the accident on Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti’s directives.

“District administrations from both provinces, rescue and other relevant departments are providing assistance to the affected persons,” the statement said late in the morning, while relief and rescue activities were under way.

The statement added that the incident would be investigated to bring facts to light.

A statement by KP Rescue 1122 said teams from Zhob emergency services and Rescue 1122 reached the site soon after receiving information about the accident and carried out rescue efforts.

The eight injured people were taken to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in Zhob while the bodies were initially taken to a nearby rural health centre. The bodies were later shifted to Zhob DHQ, the Rescue 1122 statement said.

It added that 48 passengers were aboard the bus when it fell into the ravine.

Earlier, Sherani Deputy Commissioner (DC) Wali Khan Kakar confirmed the location and other details of the incident to Dawn, saying that the bus left Quetta with 36 passengers, but more people from another broken-down bus boarded it midway.

Condolences

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the incident, state-run APP reported.

President Asif Ali Zardari also expressed grief and extended condolences to the victims’ families.

An X post by the Presidency said he prayed for the swift recovery of the injured and directed the relevant departments to ensure the provision of best possible medical facilities to the injured.

“The entire nation shares the grief of the affected families after this tragic incident,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Balochistan CM Bugti also posted his condolence message on X, expressing grief and extending condolences.

He said he had directed the relevant departments to expedite rescue efforts, provide the best medical facilities to the injured and ensure all possible assistance for the affected families.

“The Balochistan government is standing with the affected families at this difficult time,” he said.

Today’s incident comes around two-and-a-half months after a vehicle plunged into a deep ravine in the Nawagai Asbanr area of KP’s Lower Dir area, leaving three women dead and two people injured.

Prior to that, a jeep carrying five passengers skidded off a wet, slippery road and plunged into a deep ravine in Upper Chitral in KP on March 31. As a result, three people, including a child, were killed and two others were injured.

Additional input from Saleem Shahid ...