10 soldiers, among 27, die in road accident in Babusar Top

PESHAWAR: At least 27 people, including 10 Pakistan Army soldiers, were killed and 18 others injured on Sunday when a bus hit a rock and plunged into a ravine in the Babusar Top area, bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with Gilgit-Baltistan, officials said.

Local administration official Aurangzeb Haider told AFP four women and six children were among the dead, while senior police official Zaibullah Khan said six of the injured were in critical condition. The bus was travelling from Skardu to Rawalpindi when the accident happened after the driver lost control of the vehicle while taking a sharp turn and hit a mountain.

Pakistan Army aviation helicopters airlifted the injured to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Gilgit for treatment, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The bodies of passengers, including 10 soldiers, had also been shifted to CMH Gilgit.

Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed deep grief over the loss of precious lives in the accident. The President prayed for peace of the departed souls and early recovery of those injured, a President House statement said. While the Prime Minister, who is in the United States on a week-long visit, also sympathised with the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of those injured in the incident, a PM Office statement said. He directed the authorities concerned to extend best possible medical care to the injured.