A landslide in northern Pakistan on Sunday buried a minibus with 16 people onboard under tons of mud and rock with rescue workers digging through the wreckage in the hopes of finding survivors, police said.
Police officer Wakil Khan said the landslide overtook the minibus that was travelling from the city of Rawalpindi to the scenic city of Skardu. The bus was pushed into a deep ditch along the mountainous road in Skardu and buried under mud and rock. Four Pakistan Army soldiers were also among the passengers of the bus. They were identified as Suna Khan, Asif, Irshad and Farooq.
According to details, a landslide at Tangoos area in Gilgit-Baltistan region hit a passenger van leaving 16 people in the vehicle dead. The ill-fated passenger van was traveling from Rawalpindi to Skardu when the incident took place in midnight at Tangoos, destroying the vehicle, Assitant Commissioner Rondau said in a statement.
Rescue teams and security personnel rushed to the scene and launched a relief operation to remove the rubble and retrieve passengers of the van under the debris. The rescue operation has been completed and all dead bodies have been retrieved from the debris, according to the rescue sources. The rescuers removed 16 dead bodies from the debris.
SDPO Hassan said that the rescue work has been completed. “Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the debris of the bus. Six of them have been identified, including the driver and conductor,” he said.
Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan region Mir Afzal has expressed his sorrow over the tragic incident and expressed his condolences with the bereaved families. The chief minister also directed the authorities to take steps to send the bodies of the deceased to their families to their native areas.
Landslides after heavy monsoon rain are common in Pakistan, and are the cause widespread damage in areas of mountainous terrain. In August, the Karakoram Highway was blocked due to landslides, suspending the vehicular traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.
