Overcrowded bus crash in Balochistan kills 40, injures 8

Forty people were killed and eight more sustained injuries, making the incident one of the deadliest road disasters in Pakistan in recent months.

The bus was reportedly carrying 48 passengers – a mix of its own travellers and passengers from another coach that had broken down earlier in the day. The Media Line quoted rescue official Usman Sadozai as saying the vehicle was “overcrowded” after it took aboard the stranded passengers. Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind confirmed the same detail to both Yahoo News and Wsvn.

Media additions

According to a survivor who was later treated at a hospital in Zhob, the driver stopped to pick up the additional passengers, an action that sparked an argument among the crowd. The passenger allegedly grabbed the driver by the neck, and moments later the driver lost control, sending the bus hurtling down the steep slope. Police have not verified the survivor’s account, and the investigation remains open.

Rescue teams faced a daunting terrain. The wreck lay in a gorge up to 25 metres (80 feet) deep, with the access road reduced to a narrow ledge that forced paramilitary personnel and local volunteers to climb down the cliff face to reach the victims. Balochistan district officials Hazrat Wali Kakar described the effort as “painstaking,” noting that bodies and the injured were hauled up in makeshift carts and stretchers. Eight injured passengers received first aid at the scene before being transferred to the district headquarters hospital in Zhob; the remaining victims were taken to a nearby hospital for identification.

Identification has proved difficult. Most of the dead were recognized through personal documents found on them, but three bodies remained unidentified as of the afternoon. Families across Pakistan have been making frantic calls to emergency services, local police, and hospitals in hopes of locating loved ones. In Peshawar, a brother recounted waiting for a call from his sibling that never came, highlighting the personal turmoil spreading beyond the crash site.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow and directed authorities to provide the best possible medical care to the injured. Balochistan chief minister Sarfraz Bugti echoed the sentiment, ordering that all victims receive comprehensive treatment. Shah Fahad, director‑general of rescue emergency services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, pledged coordination between the two provinces, adding that bodies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa residents would be returned to their hometowns.

Road safety experts have long warned that Pakistan’s mountainous highways are vulnerable to accidents due to poor road conditions and lax enforcement of traffic laws. The incident follows a May crash in the northwest that left 17 dead, underscoring a pattern of deadly collisions in remote regions.

Timeline of the crash and rescue effort

• Shortly after the bus stops to pick up passengers from a broken‑down coach, an argument erupts.
• Driver loses control; vehicle plunges into a 25‑metre‑deep ravine at Dana Sar.
• Rescue teams from Sherani, Zhob and Dera Ismail Khan are dispatched within hours.
• Paramilitary units descend the steep gorge to reach the wreckage; injured are evacuated to Zhob district hospital.
• Bodies and survivors are extracted using makeshift carts and stretchers; three remain unidentified.
• President Zardari and Chief Minister Bugti issue statements of condolence and order medical support.
• Investigation launched by local police; survivor accounts are being reviewed.