Islamabad. Two bus accidents in Pakistan within hours of each other on Sunday left at least 35 dead and dozens injured, officials said.
The first occurred when a bus carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims returning from Iraq via Iran plunged off a highway into a ravine in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 12 people and injuring 32 others, according to police and officials. The driver lost control on the Makran coastal highway when his brakes failed as he passed through Lasbela district in Baluchistan province, said local police chief Qazi Sabir.
Balochistan authorities said arrangements were being made to send the bodies of the deceased pilgrims to Punjab province for burial. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also expressed her condolences over the accident.
Hours later, 23 people — including two women and a child — were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine in Kahuta district in the eastern province of Punjab, police and officials said. At least seven others were injured.
The bus was heading to the disputed Himalayan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which is claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan, when it fell from the Panna bridge in Kahuta district, said Sardar Waheed, a senior government official, adding that heavy machinery was needed to lift the wreckage and ensure no one was trapped underneath.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in separate statements expressed their condolences and grief over the two accidents. They called on authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment to the injured pilgrims.
Sunday’s accident came days after 28 Pakistani pilgrims were killed in a bus crash in neighboring Iran on their way to Iraq.
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– 2024-08-30 03:32:48
