At least 20 dead and many more injured as ‘overloaded’ bus carrying Muslim pilgrims crashes in Pakistan

At least 20 people have died in Pakistan after a crammed bus, which was returning from a Muslim festival, veered off the road into a ditch in the southwestern province of Balochistan. Officials say more than 40 were injured.

In the early hours of Friday morning, the bus packed full of pilgrims veered off the road near the town of Karkh in the Pakistani province. “We have received 20 bodies and over 40 injured in Khuzdar district hospital,” Dr. Manzoor Zahir told Reuters, adding that 10 of the injured were in a critical condition. 

In images shared online, the battered bus can be seen on its side near a small body of water. Personal belongings can be seen strewn around it. 

According to a security official who spoke to Reuters, “the bus was overloaded, and passengers were even traveling on the roof of the bus.” He added that soldiers and a paramilitary force had been sent to help survivors and survey the wreckage. 

Bashir Ahmed, deputy commissioner for the Khuzdar district, said that victims had been returning from a religious festival honoring a local Muslim saint. He added that all the dead were male and that they were traveling home to Sindh, one of Pakistan’s four provinces, to the east of Balochistan. 

Traffic and rail incidents are not rare occurrences in Pakistan. On Monday, at least 62 died when a passenger train smashed into the derailed carriages of another train near the town of Ghotki in Sindh province. 

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