At Least 40 Killed After Bus Plunged Off Bridge in SW Pakistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A bus in southwest Pakistan crashed off a bridge and caught fire, killing at least 44 people, according to a government official.
The said number of bodies were recovered from the ill-fated bus that careened into a ravine near Chinki stop in the Bela area of the Lasbela district this morning, Geo News reported.
Apart from the deaths, four people were taken out of the bus alive but injured by the completion of rescue operation at the site of the accident.
The passenger bus with at least 48 on board was on its way to Karachi from Quetta when it fell into a ravine and caught fire in the early hours of Sunday.
Bela Assistant Commissioner Hamza Anjum Nadeem said that the rescue operation had been completed.
Sharing the number of people on board the bus and casualties, Nadeem said that 40 bodies were taken out of the wrecked bus. He said that the bodies were unidentifiable. He said that DNA testing will be done for the identification of the deceased, while the injured passengers were being shifted to Civil Hospital, Lasbela.
Earlier, Nadeem said that the rescue workers initially faced obstacles as it was dark in the morning due to the cold weather.
Meanwhile, the police said that the accident happened due to speeding as the bus went out of the driver's control and was careened into the ravine. They said that teams of the fire brigade, rescue services and law-enforcement agencies' personnel arrived at the site of the accident and launched a rescue operation.
Efforts to completely douse the blaze were underway, they added.
