Two passengers were killed and 16 others, including three foreign nationals, were injured when a Rawalpindi-bound passenger bus veered off the road and fell into a drain on Tuesday, officials reported.
According to Serai Saleh Station House Officer (SHO) Raja Mumtaz, the accident occurred near the Shah Maqsood interchange, approximately six kilometers from district headquarters on the Hazara Motorway.
The SHO attributed the crash to reckless driving, though some passengers claimed the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
The bus, which departed Gilgit early Tuesday, was traveling at high speed when the driver lost control, causing it to plunge into the roadside drain. Locals and rescue workers rushed to the scene, transporting the injured to the Haripur Trauma Centre. Sadly, two passengers were declared dead on arrival.
Five passengers sustained serious injuries and were transferred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, while 11 others with minor injuries were treated and discharged. The deceased were identified as Masroor, 55, from Yaseen Gilgit, and Zameer Abbas, 42, from Astore.
Among the injured were a teenage girl and three foreign nationals, John, a citizen of the Czech Republic, and two Chinese nationals, Zu Chongzhi and Lyu Li Dong.
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