37 people killed in two bus accidents in Pakistan

Islamabad/Karachi: At least 37 people, including 11 pilgrims, were killed and several others injured in two separate bus accidents in Pakistan on Sunday.

The first accident occurred when a bus carrying 70 people, bringing Shia pilgrims back from Iran to Punjab province, veered off the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan province.

The Makran Coastal Highway is a 653 km national highway that extends along Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast from Karachi in Sindh province to Gwadar in Balochistan province.

Most of the passengers were from Lahore or Gujranwala, according to police sources. About 35 people were injured in the accident.

According to District Commissioner (DC) Lasbela Humaira Baloch, a rescue operation is being conducted.

In the second accident, 26 people were killed when a bus carrying 35 people fell into a ditch in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Qamar Nadeem of Edhi Foundation, which runs the largest private ambulance service, said.

“So far, 26 people have been confirmed dead and three injured,” he told PTI.

According to the sources, the cause of the accident — which occurred in a mountainous area — is not yet known.

Residents are retrieving the bodies from the bus, while the police and the rescue teams are on their way to the site of the incident.

Deputy Commissioner Sadhanoti, Umar Farooq, stated that the deceased include children, women, and men, all of whom were from the Sadhanoti district.

The accidents come just days after another bus carrying Pakistani pilgrims met with an accident in Iran, leaving 35 dead and 15 injured.