Bus plunges into river, killing 24 in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistani police say a bus has fallen off a mountainous road into a river, killing at least 24 passengers and injuring two in the country’s northwest.

Senior officer Raja Abdul Saboor says all those aboard the bus were members of an extended family from Upper Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

They were returning after attending a wedding ceremony when the accident happened on Friday in Kandian area of the district.

Saboor says police and volunteers faced difficulties in rescue and search efforts in the remote mountainous terrain due to unavailability of equipment and necessary resources.

Such road accidents often took place in Pakistan where motorists largely disregard traffic rules and safety standards on battered roads, particularly in the mountainous terrain in the north.