19 people killed after bus carrying pilgrims overturns in Pakistan

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A speeding bus in southwestern Pakistan overturned on a highway Friday, killing at least 19 people and injuring at least 50 others, police said, AP reports.

The pilgrims on board were returning to Dadu, a district in the neighboring southern Sindh province, after visiting a shrine of a Sufi saint.

Why did the bus crash?

The driver lost control on a sharp turn and the bus overturned in Khuzdar, a district in the Balochistan province, local police official Hafeez Ullah Mengal said.

Rescuers transported the wounded to a hospital and they were in a critical condition, police officer Umer Hayat told DPA news agency.

“The death toll may go up,” Hayat said.

Imran Ahmad, an official cited by the Associated Press, said driver negligence apparently caused the accident, but investigations were still under way.

One of the injured passengers also told AP that passengers had warned the driver to be more careful, adding that he was driving recklessly while enjoying music.

Ahmad said the bus was overcrowded and several pilgrims were also sitting on its roof.

“There is not a single passenger who does not have an injury because of the bus accident,” Ahmed told AP.

Deadly traffic accidents in Pakistan
Friday’s accident came just a few days after two express trains collided in southern Pakistan, killing at least 63 people and injuring dozens.

Deadly accidents caused by poor road infrastructure, disregard for traffic laws and poorly maintained vehicles are common in Pakistan.