At least five killed as a tourist bus plunges into ravine in Diamer
GILGIT/ISLAMABAD, July 16 (SABAH): At least five people were killed and 13 others were injured on Sunday when a bus carrying tourists plunged into a ravine on the Karakoram Highway near the Thalichi area in Gilgit Baltistan’s Diamer district, police said.
Diamer Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Ayaz confirmed the death toll and the number of injured, adding that the deceased included three women, a child and a man. He further said that the vehicle was heading to Gilgit from Lahore.
Local residents aided rescue efforts, following which the injured were shifted to a local hospital, the SSP said. He stated that the total number of passengers in the car was 18. The reason for the accident was still unknown.
Police and rescue teams, including Rescue 1122, are carrying out efforts to shift the injured and dead to hospitals.
The police sources initially reported 12 casualties citing the locals who counted the number of bodies found at the site of the accident. However, the number of deceased was later revised to five, including a child and women.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in a tourist bus accident near Thalichi, at Karakoram Highway on Sunday.
In a statement on Sunday, PM Shehbaz Sharif prayed for eternal peace of the deceased and expressed condolences with their bereaved families.
The Prime Minister directed the Gilgit-Baltistan authorities for immediate relief operation and also directed relevant federal departments to assist in relief work.
Praying for speedy recovery of the injured, the Prime Minister directed authorities concerned to provide best medical facilities to them.
Shehbaz Sharif also ordered an enquiry into the accident to ascertain it
Taking notice of the accident, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulber Khan expressed deep grief over the loss of lives and ordered the provision of free of cost medical aid for the injured.
A statement released by the office of the Gilgit Commissioner Najeeb Alam said that efforts to contact the families of the deceased were underway for the handover of bodies.