At least 24 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in a tragic accident on Saturday, after the bus in which they were travelling plunged off a mountainous pass into a ravine in Northern Pakistan, said authorities.
The accident occurred on Saturday afternoon on the main highway linking Pakistan and China in the mountainous northern area of the country, said officials. Military personnel have confirmed that there were at least 30 people on board the bus, including 25 Pakistani soldiers that were on their way home for their leave, a civilian bus driver and a civilian cleaner.
A senior military official confirmed that 24 people were killed in the accident, on the Karakoram Highway in northern Pakistan. The soldiers were part of a battalion of the Northern Light Infantry, and had been deployed to the beautiful Swat valley near the border with Afghanistan, in the Hindu Kush mountain range. The valley was cleared by Pakistan military of Taliban militants, thought to have originated in Afghanistan, in 2009. Troops have been posted in the region ever since to maintain control of the region. A military official said that all of the soldiers had been granted leave and were en route from Swat to Gilgit, where they would take further transport home.
According to a local administration official speaking on behalf of the military, the Pakistan defence force had dispatched rescue teams to the remote accident site to assist with the survivors and recover the bodies of the deceased. “All those 24 who were killed are Pakistan Army personnel. We have started the rescue operation and called the army to airlift injured and the bodies of the deceased to Rawalpindi,” said deputy commissioner Kohistan Aqal Badshah.
The winding, mountainous passes of the country’s northern districts are known to be treacherous, and the soldiers and civilians working for the military preferred to travel in the region in groups, said the military official. This is one of the highest death tolls for military related deaths in Pakistan in recent years, and is a tragedy for the country, said military personnel.
The cause of the accident is not yet clear, however officials say that it appears the driver suddenly lost control of the bus and plunged off the road into a ravine. The bus rolled down the steep gorge and eventually come to a stop hundreds of feet below the road, said media sources.