![[FILE] Pakistani security officials stand guard a day after a passenger plane of state run Pakistan International Airlines crashed in a residential area, in Karachi, Pakistan, 23 May 2020. EFE-EPA/FILE/SHAHZAIB AKBER](https://pre.efe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/rss-efe0bedcd31bf90d8361b0a5eeac29eee7afdd6f8a5w.jpg)
Islamabad, May 29 (EFE).- At least 28 people were killed and 16 others injured on Wednesday when a passenger bus overturned and plunged into a deep ditch in a mountainous region of Pakistan, an official said.
The accident occurred early morning in the Washuk district of Baluchistan province, paramilitary officer Ishfaq Ahmed told EFE.
He said the rescue operation was on and 28 people lost their lives and around 16 suffered serious injuries.
“Rescue operations were hampered by darkness,” Ahmed said.
The injured were initially treated at a nearby health center before being transferred to a hospital in Quetta as some of them were critical, the provincial capital.
The bus was en route between Turbat and Quetta, both located in Baluchistan, when it suffered the accident due to a tire burst, Ahmed stated.
Pakistan has one of the world’s highest rates of traffic accidents, attributed to poor road conditions, vehicle defects, and often overcrowded public transportation.
Just weeks ago, on May 3, another tragic accident claimed the lives of at least 20 people, with 21 others sustaining injuries when a passenger bus plunged off a road into a ravine in northeastern Pakistan.
According to Pakistani government data, approximately 30,000 people lose their lives annually in traffic accidents in the country. EFE
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