Makran Coastal Highway bus accident kills 11 pilgrims, injures over 30

HUB/LASBELA: At least 11 people have died and more than 30 are injured after a bus carrying pilgrims travelling to Iran plunged into a ditch on the Makran Coastal Highway, police told Geo News on Sunday.

The pilgrims — belonging to Lahore and Gujranwala, as per the police — were travelling from Punjab to Iran when their bus met the ill-fated accident due to a brake failure, Lyari Station House Officer Qadir said.

Levies, police and other departments are carrying out a rescue operation, Lasbela Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Captain (retd) Naveed Alam said, confirming the death toll and injuries.

He added that the bodies, as well as the wounded, were being shifted to nearby hospitals.

Expressing grief over the unfortunate incident, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have both issued directions for the provision of necessary medical assistance for those injured in the accident.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq conveyed his condolences and prayed for speedy recovery of the wounded.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti has also expressed grief over the loss of precious lives and has directed for immediate treatment of the wounded.

This is the second major bus accident due to brake failure this week. In the previous fatal incident, 28 Pakistani pilgrims — heading to participate in Arbaeen — lost their lives when a bus carrying them crashed into a wall and overturned due to speeding and brake failure near the Taftan-Dehshir checkpoint in Iran's Yazd city.

The mortal remains of the victims were repatriated via a special flight on Friday.

The vehicle, with 53 passengers on board including 14 women, met with the accident on Wednesday night. At least 10 of the victims hailed from Khairpur, six belonged to Kashmore, three were from Karachi.