Daily Times

Twenty-six individuals were confirmed dead and a dozen others were injured in a passenger bus accident on Babusar Pass in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan early on Sunday, GB government spokesperson Faizullah Firaq said.

Firaq said that the deceased and injured, which included Pakistan Army troops, had been shifted to the district headquarters hospital in Chilas. An emergency was declared at the DHQ Hospital.

He added that the process of identifying the deceased was underway.

According to Diamer police spokesperson Mohammad Wakeel, the passenger bus, belonging to a private company, had departed from Skardu Saturday night for Rawalpindi.

He said that early Sunday morning, the driver lost control of the bus and it hit a mountain on Shahrah-e-Kaghan at a location between Geeti-Das and Babusar Top. It is not clear how the driver lost control of the vehicle.

Raja Ashfaq, an official in the DC office of Diamer, said that most of the deceased and injured were from Skardu.

Ashfaq said that Rescue 1122 and police teams were dispatched to the site of the accident. Additionally, he said that a helicopter was requested from the GB government in order to transport the bodies to Skardu following identification.

GB government spokesperson says 16 Pakistan Army troops among the victims, identification process continues

Meanwhile, Firaq said that the injured were being shifted to Gilgit in a helicopter. He 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.

Rasheed Arshad, a spokesman for the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister, confirmed that 26 bodies, among them women and children, have been retrieved from the wreckage.

He said 13 passengers were admitted to the DHQ Hospital, Chilas, and some of them were in critical condition. He also confirmed there were 16 Pakistan Army personnel on the bus. The Babusar Pass road, frequently used by tourists, remains open from the end of June to October every year. It is then closed following heavy snowfall at Babusar Top. The route presents the quickest road means to travel to Gilgit-Baltistan from Islamabad.