Dozens killed in two bus accidents in Pakistan

Deaths come days after 28 Pakistani pilgrims die in Iran on their way to Iraq for Arbaeen

The wreckage of a bus at the site of an accident that killed 23 people after the vehicle plunged into a ravine near Kahuta in Punjab province on August 25, 2024. AFP

A dozen pilgrims were among the 35 people killed in two separate bus accidents in north-east and south-west Pakistan on Sunday, a day after the bodies of 28 Pakistanis killed in a bus crash in Iran were repatriated.

Twelve pilgrims died on the Makran Coastal Highway in the south-west of the country, the Interior Ministry said, while 23 people were killed in a second bus accident in Pakistan-ruled Kashmir, according to rescue officials.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in a statement expressed “heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the families of the deceased in both accidents”.

Twenty-three people died when the bus they were travelling in plunged into a ravine near the town of Azad Pattan on the border between Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

“I have lost three members of my family,” Tara Zafar, who travelled to the hospital after hearing about the accident, told AFP. Her father, sister and one-year-old nephew were among the dead.

In a separate accident, a bus crashed into a ravine on the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan, after being prevented from crossing into Iran. Twelve pilgrims died in the accident on a mountainous area, about 500 kilometres from the Iranian border town of Pishin.

The pilgrims were planning to go to Iraq to attend Arbaeen, one of the biggest events of the Shiite calendar, which marks the 40th day of mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

“The bus was carrying pilgrims on its way to Arbaeen but was turned back at the Iran border because their documents had some problems,” said Hamood Ur Rehman, a senior government official in the district of Gwadar.

Sunday's accidents come a day after the bodies of 28 pilgrims who died when a bus overturned in central Iran were returned to Pakistan. The pilgrims were also on their way to Iraq for Arbaeen.