Friday 03 / July / 2026
At least 40 people were killed and eight others injured after a passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Friday, officials said.
According to police, the overcrowded bus was likely speeding. An investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause of the crash.
What did officials say about the crash and rescue efforts?
"A passenger bus travelling from Quetta to Peshawar plunged into a deep ravine in the mountainous Dana Sar area ... Forty people have been confirmed dead and 11 others injured," said Sanaullah Sherani, the head of the emergency center in Zhob district near where the incident took place.
Sherani said that the bus fell 70 to 80 feet (roughly 21 to 24 meters) off the ravine.
"As the accident occurred in a rugged mountainous area, rescue teams faced significant difficulties during the initial phase of the operation," he said.
The bus lost control, veered off the road and fell into the ravine, according to Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government.
Dana Sar is near the border of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Rind said the bus was overcrowded in part because it had stopped to pick up passengers from another bus that had broken down.
Pakistan President Zardari expresses condolences
The bus was carrying 48 passengers, including those who had transferred from another bus that had broken down, officials said.
Rescue workers used cutters and machines to retrieve victims from the wreck of the vehicle before transporting the injured to nearby hospitals.
Some of those injured were reported to be in critical condition.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti have expressed condolences to the victims' families.
