At least 27 people lost their lives and more than 15 wounded Sunday in a passenger bus accident on Babusar Pass in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan.
According to police, the ill-fated passenger bus BLN 1495, belonging to a private company Mashabrum, had departed from Skardu Saturday night for Rawalpindi.
Sources added, the driver lost control of the bus and it collided against a mountain. Nevertheless, it is not clear yet how the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Coupled with, the police initially had confirmed the death of 27 people in the accident. However, most of the deceased and injured are from Skardu.
GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said that the injured were shifted to the district headquarters hospital in Chilas and an emergency was declared at the DHQ hospital.
Moreover, the military’s media wing stated that in a rescue operation carried out by the Pakistan Army, the injured were shifted to Combined Military Hospital, Gilgit by armed forces’ aviation helicopters.
Farqar expressed his gratitude with the force commander for providing a Pakistan Army helicopter for the mission, adding that an ambulance of the Army was also taking part in the rescue operation.
“Pakistan Army aviation helicopters have evacuated injured to CMH Gilgit for medical treatment,” the ISPR said. The bodies, including those of the 10 soldiers who lost their lives, were also shifted to CMH Gilgit, the media’s military wing added.
Notably, Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Dr Arif Alvi and GB Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman expressed grief over the tragedy.
In a statement, the premier offered condolences to all affected families and ordered officials to ensure the best quality medical treatment for the injured.
The President prayed for peace of the departed souls and early recovery of those injured in a statement released by President House statement.
