Bus crash in central Pakistan kills 33 people and injures 40
- The passengers on the packed bus were mostly labourers travelling home for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha
- Rescuers transported the dead and injured to a nearby hospital. The bus driver was among the dead
A jam-packed bus carrying mostly labourers travelling home for a major Muslim holiday rammed into a container truck on a busy highway in central Pakistan on Monday, police and rescue officials said. At least 33 people were killed and 40 others injured.
The bus, which was over passenger capacity, had left the city of Sialkot and was travelling on Taunsa Road in Punjab province. Its destination was the city of Dera Ghazi Khan, said senior police officer Hassan Javed. The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, he said.
Rescuers transported the dead and injured to a nearby hospital. According to Sher Khan, who was in charge of the rescue team at the site, some of the injured were in critical condition. He said the bus driver was among the 33 killed in the accident.
Khan said the passengers were travelling to their home district of Rajanpur to celebrate the upcoming Eid al-Adha feast.
Injured passenger Haider Ali said the bus was overcrowded and some passengers were sitting on the roof at the time of the accident. However, police said they were still investigating whether some passengers were on the roof.