40 killed when bus crashes, falls off bridge in Pakistan
In a separate incident, at least 10 children drown after their boat capsizes in a lake.
QUETTA, Pakistan — A passenger bus crashed into a pillar and fell off a bridge, catching fire and killing 40 people Sunday in southern Pakistan, a government official said.
The bus was carrying 44 passengers from Quetta in Baluchistan province to Karachi in neighboring Sindh province. The accident occurred near the town of Bela, in Lasbela district.
Hamza Anjum Nadeem, assistant commissioner in Bela, said the bodies of 40 people, including children, were recovered.
Four injured passengers were rescued.
“The accident happened due to over-speeding, and the bus crashed into the pillar of a bridge. It caught fire soon after falling” off the bridge, he said.
Images from the crash site showed what was left of the charred bus lying near the bridge. The recovered remains of some of those killed were lined up in rows nearby.
Nadeem said the bodies were burned beyond recognition and are being transported to Karachi for DNA sampling. After identification, the bodies will be returned to relatives.
The chief minister of Baluchistan, Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, expressed sorrow for the loss of life and ordered authorities to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.
In a separate incident, in Pakistan’s northwest, at least 10 students drowned after their boat Sunday capsized in a lake, police said.
The children, from a religious school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, were picnicking at a lake at Tanda Dam.
Police official Qismat Khan said 25 students were on the boat. Six were rescued; three of them are in critical condition. Nine children remain missing.
The dead were 11 to 13 in age.
Khan said an earlier group of 16 students was able to cross the lake. But the same boat capsized while taking 25 on the next trip.
“As per initial reports, overloading resulted in the overturning of the boat,” he said.
Abdul Rauf Qaiserani, the district police officer, oversaw the rescue work.
Lifesaving divers were called in from the provincial capital, Peshawar, because none were available locally. Residents of the area joined authorities in recovering bodies from the water.
Pakistan has witnessed similar incidents in the past at tourist attractions, some of which do not adhere to safety measures, such as the use of life vests.