At least 20 people were dead and 21 injured when a passenger bus plunged off a mountain road in a remote area of Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan.
Diamer district rescue officer Shaukat Riaz said that the private bus was going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit. On the way, the driver lost control near Gunar Farm on Karakoram Highway. Riyaz said that the bus overturned and fell on the banks of the Indus river.
He said that the accident happened around 5:30 am on Friday. Riaz also said that the injured have been taken to Chilas Hospital. Although 35 people were initially injured, some of them died after being admitted to hospital.
Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said three women were among the dead.
After receiving the news of the accident, the rescue team quickly reached the spot. The injured person and the body were sent to a hospital in Chilas. According to the director of the Ministry of Health, there are three women among the dead. Diam Deputy Commissioner Fayaz Ahmed said that the condition of five injured persons is serious.
He also said that two of them have been sent to Gilgit city. He also said that the rescue operation is over. Army helicopters also took part in it. Apart from this, contact has also been completed with the families of the victims.
Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif expressed his condolences to the victims of the bus accident. He wished speedy recovery of the injured.
