Gilgit Baltistan [PoK], July 16 : At least five persons were killed and 13 others were injured after a bus carrying tourists fell into a ravine on the Karakoram Highway in the Thalichi area in Gilgit Baltistan's Diamer district on Sunday, reported Dawn.
Diamer Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Ayaz verified the death toll and the number of injuries to Dawn, saying that the deceased included three women, a child, and a man.
He went on to say that the bus was on its way to Gilgit from Lahore, as per Dawn.
Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in 1941.
Local residents assisted with rescue operations, and the injured were sent to a nearby hospital, according to the SSP. He added that there were a total of 18 passengers in the bus.
Five tourists were killed and 13 were injured earlier this month in two accidents in Gilgit Baltistan’s Hunza when a van slid into a gorge and another crashed into a mountain.
Last month, eight people were killed and 17 others were injured when a vehicle travelling from Upper Dir to Chitral crashed into a ravine.
In the same month, nine people were murdered and 18 were injured when a roller coaster crashed into a ravine in PoK.
Roads in poor condition, insufficient safety measures, and irresponsible driving all contribute to PoK’s poor road safety record.
Passenger buses are usually overcrowded, and seatbelts are either rarely or never worn, resulting in high fatality rates from single-vehicle accidents.
As per the World Health Organisation’s estimates, over 27,000 people have died in Pakistan’s roads in 2018, Dawn reported.
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