QUETTA: Twenty passengers died and 10 were wounded as a Quetta-bound bus plunged into a deep ravine in the Shirani district of Balochistan, officials said Sunday morning.
The district assistant commissioner said that the police and rescue teams rushed to the site of the accident and shifted the deceased and injured to hospitals in Zhob and Mughal Kot as soon as they were informed about the accident.
According to rescue workers, the ill-fated bus met the accident near Danasar area of Shirani district, on its way to Quetta from Rawalpindi .
The Shirani assistant commissioner said that the incident took place within the limits of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The district assistant commissioner initially put the toll at 19. Later, police said it has risen to 20.
The cause of accident has yet to be ascertained. The deceased have also yet to be identified.
Expressing deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif directed the authorities to provide the best medical care to the injured immediately.
Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizenjo also expressed grief over the loss of precious lives and directed the administration and the rescue officials to expedite their response.
He ordered the authorities to impose a state of emergency in Zhob’s hospitals and provide the best medical facilities to the injured.
Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz also expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the accident and extended his sympathy to the families of the victims.