PAKISTAN / MENA Newswire / – Forty people were killed and eight others injured Friday after a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in a mountainous area near the border of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, officials said. The crash took place near Dhana Sar, also reported as Dana Sar, on a road used by long distance passenger coaches. The bus carried 48 people when it left the highway and fell into the rocky ravine.
The bus had been traveling from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, toward Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to officials familiar with the rescue response. Other accounts from authorities listed Islamabad as the destination. Officials did not give a final route confirmation. The vehicle fell shortly after crossing from Balochistan’s Sherani district toward Dera Ismail Khan, an area known for steep roads and difficult terrain.
Initial details showed the bus was overcrowded after it picked up passengers from another vehicle that had broken down, officials said. Emergency workers said the coach fell about 70 to 80 feet into the ravine. Rescue teams reached the site after the crash and moved the injured to nearby medical facilities. The dead included passengers whose identities remained under review as families sought information from local authorities.
Rescue teams worked through difficult terrain
The Balochistan government confirmed the death toll and said rescue workers continued efforts at the crash site after the bus fell from the road. Officials said the remote location slowed the response and made recovery work difficult. Volunteers also joined rescue crews as bodies and injured passengers were brought out from the ravine. Authorities said the injured received medical care after transport from the mountainous area.
KP Rescue 1122 also confirmed casualties and helped move bodies and survivors to health facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Officials said the bus suffered heavy damage after the fall. Police began collecting details from the site, the vehicle and survivors. They said the investigation would focus on the condition of the bus, the load it carried and the events that led to the driver losing control.
Road safety remains a national concern
Pakistan records frequent road crashes involving passenger buses, especially on mountain routes and long intercity roads. Officials often cite speeding, overcrowding, weak vehicle checks and poor road conditions in such incidents. The Dhana Sar crash drew national attention because of the high death toll and the number of passengers on board. Authorities said they were still working to complete the identification process for those killed.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed condolences to the families of the victims and called for medical treatment for the injured. Local officials said bodies would be handed to relatives after identification. The crash added to a series of deadly transport accidents in Pakistan, where buses remain a major form of travel between cities. Officials said the final findings would come from the ongoing police investigation.