Pakistan: A speeding bus skidded off the road before plunging into a gorge in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Officials said on Monday that 16 people were killed and around 60 others were injured in the road accident. According to reports, the bus going from Islamabad to Lahore overturned late on Sunday night.
The bus hit three vehicles before overturning
“The bus collided with three vehicles coming from the opposite direction before overturning and fell down the road,” Rescue 1122 official Muhammad Farooq said on Monday. People returning from the wedding ceremony were boarding the bus. The rescue 1122 emergency service attributed brake failure as the apparent cause of the accident. Farooq said that the dead and many injured were pulled out by cutting the body of the bus.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed grief
“The injured have been taken to hospitals in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, where 11 of them are in critical condition,” he said. He said six of the dead were women. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has expressed grief over the accident. He directed the officials to provide better medical facilities to the injured.
Road accidents are common in Pakistan and are mainly caused by bad roads, poorly maintained vehicles and unprofessional driving. Last month, at least 41 people were killed when a passenger coach fell into a gorge in Lasbela, Balochistan. According to World Health Organization estimates, more than 27,000 people died on Pakistan’s roads in 2018.
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