Bus plunge kills at least 40 passengers

Quetta-Peshawar coach veers into ravine in Sherani, leaving several others injured

QUETTA:

At least 40 passengers, including women and children, were killed and several others injured when a bus plunged into a deep ravine in the mountainous Dahana Sar area of Balochistan's Sherani district on Friday, officials said.

The bus was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar when the driver reportedly lost control, causing the vehicle to veer off the road and plunge 70 to 80 feet into a ravine. Officials said the crash occurred in rugged mountainous terrain, complicating rescue efforts.

While local authorities put the number of injured at eight, rescue officials later said 11 people had been taken to hospital, including three in critical condition. Sherani Deputy Commissioner Hazrat Ali Kakar said women and children were among those killed.

Following the accident, local administration officials, security forces and Rescue 1122 teams rushed to the scene and launched an operation to recover passengers trapped inside the wreckage. The bodies and injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Zhob.

Rescue teams from both Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa participated in the operation. Sanaullah Sherani, head of Zhob district's emergency centre, said the steep terrain and inaccessibility of the crash site significantly hampered the initial rescue effort.

Deputy Commissioner Kakar said the bus had departed Quetta with 36 passengers on board. However, after another bus broke down along the route, its passengers were transferred to the ill-fated vehicle, substantially increasing the number of people travelling on the bus and contributing to the high death toll.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti ordered a formal inquiry into the tragedy, his Adviser on Media Affairs Shahid Rind said. The chief minister directed the provincial transport secretary to conduct an inquiry, establish the facts surrounding the accident and submit a detailed report on its causes.

Rind said the provincial government would carry out an impartial and transparent review of every aspect of the incident to determine the actual causes and recommend effective measures to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

He added that the Balochistan government stood with the bereaved families and would provide them with every possible assistance, while ensuring that the inquiry's findings resulted in meaningful transport reforms and stronger road safety measures to improve the safety of public travel.

(WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES)