Overcrowding behind 40 deaths in Pakistan bus tragedy near Balochistan-KP border? What we know so far

At least 40 people have been killed and eight others injured after a Peshawar-bound bus on Friday veered off the road and fell into a ravine at the Dhanasar area near the Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) border.

As per the Medical Emergency Response Centre, 40 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, while the injured have been shifted to the Trauma Centre in Zhob for treatment.

Rescue teams, ambulances, and emergency personnel were still engaged in rescue operations at the site of the tragedy, as of 2 PM on Friday.

According to Shahid Rind, Assistant of CM Balochistan for Political and Media Affairs, initial information revealed that the bus that fell into the gorge may have been carrying more passengers than usual.

Rind noted that this was because apart from its own passengers, the bus had also been carrying passengers from another bus that had broken down earlier.

As per a Dawn report and a KP 1122 rescue team statement, the bus had 36 people when departing from Quetta, but 48 at the time of the crash.

Initial reports have also revealed that the brakes of the bus were another major reason behind the crash.

As it neared the Balochistan-KP border, the brakes of the bus failed, which caused the driver to lose control while going around a difficult bend on the mountainous terrain.

As a result, the bus skid off the road and fell into the ravine.

Deputy Commissioner of Sherani district Wali Khan Kakar said that efforts are on to identify the deceased and those who are injured.

Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti has now ordered a probe into the causes of the accident, condoling the families of the deceased and the injured.