At least 32 people were killed and 16 others injured after an overcrowded passenger bus plunged into a ravine in south‑western Pakistan.
The bus was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar when it crashed in the Dana Sar mountain range, near the border between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at about 08:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Friday.
A government official at Zhob Hospital told BBC News that a total of 48 people – including many women and children – had been on board when the accident happened.
Preliminary reports suggest that a steering fault may have caused the driver to lose control before skidding off the mountain range. The bus was heavily occupied, having taken on additional passengers from another bus that had broken down, a spokesperson for Balochistan’s chief minister reported.
Photographs from the scene show the badly damaged bus following its plunge to the bottom of the ravine. Rescue and recovery efforts were hampered by difficult terrain, and emergency responders were deployed to the scene. The injured were taken to the District Headquarters hospital in Zhob, about 68 km (42 miles) from the crash site.
"The bus fell approximately 70 to 80 feet (21–24 m) into the ravine," said Sanaullah Sherani, head of Zhob district’s emergency service, to AFP news agency.
The bodies of those killed were also taken to the hospital and, after identification, will be transported to their hometowns by ambulance.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the deaths. Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti posted on X that he was deeply saddened by the accident and ordered an inquiry into how it occurred.
Fatal accidents are common on Pakistan’s roads, often caused by reckless driving, bad road surfaces and poorly maintained vehicles. In 2024 at least 17 pilgrims were killed and 40 others injured after a bus fell into a ravine while travelling to Balochistan for Eid celebrations, highlighting the ongoing risk of overcrowded and inadequately inspected transport.
