Lasbela: The death toll in a bus accident near Chunky stop in Bela area of Lasbela district has risen to 41 as the passenger bus plunged into a ditch and caught fire, reported JEE News on Sunday.
During the rescue operation at the accident site, three injured people were taken out of the bus.
The accident took place on Sunday morning when the bus, carrying at least 44 people, was traveling from Quetta to Karachi.
Bela Assistant Commissioner Hamza Anjum Nadeem said that the rescue operation has been completed.
Telling about the number of people in the bus and the casualties, Nadeem said that 40 bodies have been removed from the damaged bus. He said that the bodies are unidentifiable. He said that a DNA test will be conducted to identify the deceased while the injured passengers are being shifted to the civil hospital Lasbela.
Earlier, Nadeem said rescue workers initially faced hurdles as it was dark in the morning due to cold weather.
Meanwhile, the police said that the accident occurred due to over speeding as the bus lost control of the driver and plunged into the ditch. He said that teams of fire brigade, rescue services and officials of law enforcement agencies reached the accident site and started rescue operation.
He added that efforts are on to put out the fire completely.
Mansehra accident
Earlier this month, in a similar incident, a five-month-old child was killed while 16 other passengers were injured when a bus going to Muzaffarabad fell into a ditch in Batrasi area of Mansehra.
SHO Garhi Habibullah said that the police, with the help of Rescue 1122 personnel, shifted the injured to a nearby hospital, where the condition of five is said to be critical.
