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At least 51 people have been killed in two separate transport crashes in western Pakistan, when a bus plunged off a bridge and a boat carrying a class of children capsized.
Forty-one people are so far confirmed dead after their bus crashed into a ravine in south-western Balochistan province on Sunday, while at least 10 students died in the boating accident in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said.
Up to nine people were still missing in the waters, local police said, with a rescue operation under way.
At the remote site of the bus crash, north of the city of Bela in Lasbela district, senior administration official Hamza Anjum said 40 bodies were retrieved from the wreck along with three injured, one of whom died shortly afterwards. The remaining two survivors were in “serious” condition.
He added: “The dead bodies … are beyond recognition.”
The bus was reportedly carrying 48 passengers when it struck a pillar on the bridge and careened off course earlier on Sunday. It had been travelling overnight between Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta and the southern port city of Karachi.
“It is feared that the driver may have fallen asleep,” Anjum said, also mentioning the possibility he had been speeding during the long-distance trip. “We will investigate the causes of the accident,” he said, adding that DNA tests would be used to determine the identity of the remains which had been “badly mutilated”.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local police official Mir Rauf told AFP all of the dead so far recovered from the lake were between the ages of seven and 14. He said a further 11 – children had been rescued, with six in critical condition. However, up to nine more remained missing from the madrassa class, which was on a day trip.
“A rescue operation is under way,” Rauf told AFP.
Ramshackle highways, lax safety measures and reckless driving contribute to Pakistan’s dire road safety record. Passenger buses are frequently crammed to capacity and seatbelts are not commonly worn, meaning high death tolls from single vehicle accidents are common.
According to World Health Organisation estimates, more than 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan’s roads in 2018. In November, 20 people, including 11 children, were killed when a minibus crashed into a deep and water-logged ditch in southern Pakistan.
Mass drownings are also common in Pakistan, with many aged and overloaded vessels
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