Bus full of passengers plunges off bridge and bursts into flames as 40 killed

30 January 2023 , 06:11

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A horror bus crash in Pakistan has left 40 people dead (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

At least 40 people have died in Pakistan after a bus plunged off a bridge into a ravine and caught fire.

The bus was carrying 44 passengers from Quetta in Balochistan to Karachi in neighbouring Sindh province when it crashed near the town of Bela.

Images from the site of the crash showed a charred bus lying beneath the bridge. The vehicle was reported to have been speeding before colliding with a pillar on the bridge, causing it to fall into a ravine below and burst into flames.

Hamza Anjum Nadeem, assistant commissioner in Bela, said the bodies of 40 people including women and children had been recovered while four injured passengers were also rescued.

The bus was speeding when it hit a pillar on the bridge and fell into the ravine below before bursting into flames (AFP via Getty Images)

Bodies of the victims are being transported to Karachi for identification, after which they will be handed over to the victims' relatives.

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Speaking on the cause of the accident, Mr Nadeem said: "The accident happened due to over-speeding and the bus crashed into the pillar of a bridge. It caught fire soon after falling (off the bridge),"

Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, chief minister of Balochistan, expressed his sorrow for the loss of life and ordered authorities to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.

At least 10 children drowned in a separate incident in Pakistan's northwest on Sunday, according to police.

Four injured passengers were rescued from the wreckage (AFP via Getty Images)

The children from a religious school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were visiting Tanda Dam when their boat capsized in a lake.

Local police official Qismat Khan six of the 25 children were rescued while three of them are in critical condition.

The deceased were aged between 11 to 13, and nine children remained missing.

"As per initial reports, overloading resulted in the overturning of the boat," he said. Similar incidents in Pakistan in the past have often resulted from tourist attractions that do not adhere to safety measures, including the use of life vests.

Local people assisted emergency services in recovering bodies from the water, according to local reports.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas