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Rescue workers collect remains from the burnt wreckage of a bus accident in Bela, an area of Lasbela district of Balochistan province, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. AP/PA Images

At least 51 killed in Pakistan transport tragedies, as boat full of children capsizes

The latest transport tragedy in the country has left ten students confirmed dead, while up to nine are still missing in the waters.

LAST UPDATE | 29 Jan 2023

AT LEAST 51 people have been killed in two separate transport accidents in western Pakistan today, when a bus plunged off a bridge and a boat carrying a class of children capsized.

Forty-one are so far confirmed dead after their bus crashed into a ravine in southwestern Balochistan province, while at least 10 students died in the boating accident in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said.

Up to nine are still missing in the waters, local police said, with a rescue operation underway.

At the remote site of the bus crash, north of the city of Bela in Lasbela district, senior administration official Hamza Anjum said “the dead bodies…are beyond recognition”.

Anjum said 40 corpses were retrieved from the wreck alongside three injured, one of which died shortly after. The remaining two survivors were in “serious” condition.

The bus was reportedly carrying a total of 48 passengers when it hit a pillar on the bridge and careened off course earlier today.

It had been travelling overnight between Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta and the southern port city of Karachi.

“It is feared that the driver may have fallen asleep,” Anjum said, also mentioning the possibility he had been speeding during the long-distance trip.

“We will investigate the causes of the accident,” he said, adding that DNA tests would be used to determine the identity of the remains which had been “badly mutilated”.

‘Rescue underway’ 

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local police official Mir Rauf told AFP all of the dead so far recovered from the lake were between the ages of seven and 14.

He said 11 more children had been rescued, with six in critical condition. However, up to nine more remain missing from the madrassa class which was day tripping at the scenic location.

“A rescue operation is underway,” Rauf told AFP.

Ramshackle highways, lax safety measures and reckless driving contribute to Pakistan’s dire road safety record.

“Everything was normal until suddenly the boat overturned,” said 11-year-old survivor Muhammad Mustafa from his hospital bed in the nearby city of Kohat.

“I got stuck under the boat,” he told AFP. “My shawl and sweater weighed me down, so I took them off.”

“The water was extremely cold and my body went numb. I thought I was going to pass out when a man on an inflatable tube saved me.”

One of the rescued was a teacher, who remained unconscious as the rescue operation continued for up to three pupils still missing.

Passenger buses are frequently crammed to capacity and seatbelts are not commonly worn, meaning high death tolls from single vehicle accidents are common.

In November, 20 people, including 11 children, were killed when a minibus crashed into a deep and water-logged ditch in southern Pakistan.

According to World Health Organisation estimates, more than 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan’s roads in 2018.

Mass drownings are also common in Pakistan, when aged and overloaded vessels lose their stability and pitch passengers into the water.

© Agence France-Presse

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    Mute Murph11
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 8:18 PM

    K firstly we hit 22 deg for the first time this year I reckon . Secondly those two women pictured in this sub tropical heatwave are wearing cardigans as well as one of them drinking coffee!! Thirdly this poor child who was obviously thrown into a shallow pool for the photo pic, his mother is also dresses for the cold. So heatwave its is not. Normal weather for this time of year, maybe

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    Mute Mickey Finn
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 8:51 PM

    Ireland is just Dublin apparently

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    Mute Fisics
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 9:22 PM

    Mickey, damn right. ;)

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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 9:49 PM

    Well sorry now but I still like me cuppa tea in the mid summer thank you very much!!! Barrys’s at that!!!

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    Mute alandel
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    Jun 24th 2015, 12:33 AM

    Did you guy guys not get the memo?

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    Mute KMac
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 8:20 PM

    Fine for some! I was rowing with the other slaves. The country won’t save itself you know!

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    Mute Risteárd Ó Cinnéide
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 8:58 PM

    Ah the magic of google. A quick search reveals Asheena Naidoo in lingerie. Thank me later lads: http://www.showbiz.ie/news/october09/09-proper-models-spotted-in-dublin-shocker.shtml

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    Mute Lisa Saputo
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 8:19 PM

    I really don’t enjoy the summer, prefer autumn.

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    Mute Al ..
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 8:19 PM

    Welcome to Ireland. Where the weather Has it’s own four seasons in one day all year around .!!

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    Mute Jim Mac
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 9:05 PM

    A sunny week at Clonmany Festival makes everyone happy don’t knock it!

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    Mute John Burke
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 8:47 PM

    Yes, we are so sick we think a sunny day is our happiness.

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    Mute Colleen McGovern
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:49 AM

    I was in the water with a wet suit and gloves. The sun did make a difference but when I got home; I did need to take a long shower to thaw out.

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    Mute Biodiversity Watch On Biology-ie
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    Jun 23rd 2015, 11:20 PM

    Don’t know where met office gets their temp readings but on the south coast it’s hit 20, 22, and 25 degrees C several times over the past week.

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