23 killed as bus plunges into ravine in Pakistan-administered Kashmir

KARACHI, Pakistan

At least 23 people, including women and children, were killed and another eight injured when a passenger bus fell into a ravine in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday, police and local media reported.

The incident occurred in the Sudhnoti district of the Pakistan-controlled part of the disputed Himalayan valley, also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, located some 110 kilometers (68 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

Rashid Naeem Khan, a senior police official, told reporters that 21 bodies were recovered, while those that were injured, some of them critically, were transported to the hospital.

The ill-fated 40-seat coaster was on its way to the city of Rawalpindi.

Footage aired on local broadcaster 24News showing hundreds of villagers gathered on the edge of a narrow portion of the road as security officials examined the badly damaged vehicle lying at least 500 meters down the road.

There has yet been no official word on the cause of the accident, though local English daily Dawn cited eyewitnesses in its report saying that the vehicle first hit the mountain slope on the left side of the narrow road, then turned to the right and plunged into the ravine.

Road accidents in this region are common, mainly due to the hilly terrain and non-compliance with the safety standards.

Last month, eight people were killed and over 30 injured in two road accidents in Poonch and Neelum districts, while another 10 people were wounded in a third road accident in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir.