At least 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed on Saturday when their bus plunged into a ravine on the main Pakistan-China highway in the mountainous northern region, officials said.
“According to initial information, 23 soldiers died in a road accident when their bus plunged into a ravine on the Karakoram Highway,” said a senior military official.
The military said 27 people were on board the bus including 25 soldiers heading home on leave and a civilian driver and cleaner.
The soldiers belonged to a battalion of the Northern Light Infantry (NLI) and were deployed to the picturesque Swat valley, which was cleared of Taliban militants in 2009.
A local administration official said they had dispatched teams to the remote accident site.
“They were all proceeding on leave from Swat to Gilgit,” the military official said.