- Three women, as many kids among dead with 22 other passengers injured, some of them critically
QUETTA: As many as 28 passengers, including women and children died and 22 others sustained injuries after a Quetta-bound bus overturned and fell into a ravine into Balochistan’s Washuk area on Wednesday morning, rescuers and police confirmed.
Basima Assistant Commissioner (AC) Ismail Mengal confirmed the accident, saying that the bus, on the way to Quetta from Turbat with 45 to 50 passengers on board, suffered the accident at around 5 in the morning.
The AC said the accident occurred when one of the tyres of the vehicle got burst, which led to it crashing into a hill and then plunging into a ravine.
“Three women and three children were also among the deceased,” AC Mengal said.
Six passengers died on the spot while some of the injured were in critical condition, with officials fearing the death toll could rise.
“The driver was navigating a turn in a mountainous area when the vehicle lost control and fell into a ravine,” Ismail Mengal later told a foreign news agency.
“We are still investigating the cause of the incident. It could be that the driver fell asleep or was speeding, which led to the accident,” he added.
The bodies and the injured were taken to the Basima Civil Hospital, where 22 more people succumbed to their injuries.
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 in the trauma centre.
The remaining 17 are being administered medical treatment in local Washuk hospitals.
Due to a lack of mobile network at the site of the incident and no population nearby, there was a delay in Levies officials getting information.
However, AC Mengal said that rescue officials reached the location as soon as they received the news.
According to the AC, most of the deceased have not been identified yet but Gwadar administration/officials are being approached for the purpose.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti expressed deep regret and sorrow over the loss of human lives. He also extended his condolences to the families of those who died in the accident.
The chief minister instructed the officials to provide the best medical facilities to the injured, and prayed for their speedy recovery.
Noor Ullah, chief doctor at Civil Hospital Basima, told AFP that 27 bodies were taken there, including three women and three children.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has “expressed deep sorrow and grief over the tragic traffic accident”, his office said in a statement.
The premier also directed the authorities concerned to provide assistance to the injured.
National Party chief calls for dual carriages in Balochistan
National Party President Dr Abdul Malik Baloch expressed regret over the incident, describing it as tragic and painful.
Like CM Bugti, he called for the injured to given the best medical treatment possible, adding that any sort of negligence will lead to further damage.
“Speeding buses and single roads have claimed thousands of precious lives,” Baloch said.
He noted that there is an urgent need to construct two-way roads in Balochistan and that the government should make appropriate changes to the budget.
In two similar incidents in May, 13 people belonging to a same family were killed and nine others got injured when a truck plunged into a ditch in Punjab’s Khushab district.
The accident occurred because of brake failure on Panj Pir-Manawan Road in Khushab. Consequently, the truck driver lost control of the vehicle and it fell into the ditch.
The deceased of the ill-fated crash included women, too, and the family was going to Khushab.
Meanwhile, 20 people lost their lives while 21 sustained injuries after a passenger bus veered off a narrow mountain road and plummeted into a ravine in a remote area of Diamer district, Gilgit Baltistan.
The mishap took place at the Yashokhal area on the Karakoram Highway in Diamer early Friday morning at around 5:30am, according to police.
Meanwhile, the police said there were at least 38 passengers on board.
The bus was on its way from Rawalpindi to Gilgit.
