19 killed, over 40 injured in Pakistan bus crash

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At least 19 people were killed and over 40 others injured in a head-on collision between two passenger buses in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province Sunday night, police and local media said.

According to reports, the accident happened on Multan road near the Ghazi Ghat area of Dera Ghazi Khan, a district in Punjab province.

One of the passenger buses was destroyed in the accident, local TV channel ARY News reported, adding that parts of the buses has to be removed by emergency services to retrieve the bodies of the dead and injured.

Following the incident, rescuers, police and locals rushed to the site and moved bodies and injured to a hospital.

A hospital official said that the death toll might continue to rise as several of the injured were in critical condition.

Police officials in the area said the accident happened due to negligence from one of the bus drivers and also because the bus was speeding. They added that a case has been registered against the driver for the oversight.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the tragic incident. He also directed hospital authorities to provide the best medical treatment to the injured passengers.

According to official data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, around 9,000 road accidents have been reported every year since 2011, with more than 4,500 people killed on average annually.

Pakistan's traffic police said that 90 percent of those accidents are caused by human error.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency