At least seven people were killed and over 15 others injured when a passenger bus skidded off the road and plunged into a deep ditch near Dharab bridge in the Kallar Kahar area of Chakwal district on Sunday morning.
The accident occurred on the motorway near Bil Kasar, reportedly due to overspeeding, rescue officials told Samaa TV.
The ill-fated bus, carrying 48 passengers, was en route from Islamabad to Lahore when the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer off the road and fall into a ravine.
Rescue 1122 personnel, Motorway Police, and local police reached the site promptly after the incident was reported. A rescue operation was launched to retrieve the victims from the ditch and shift them to nearby hospitals.
A Rescue 1122 spokesperson said 15 of the injured had been shifted to the Trauma Centre Hospital in Kallar Kahar and the District Headquarters Hospital in Chakwal. Hospital sources confirmed that at least five of the injured are in critical condition.
Motorway Police officials stated that initial investigations suggest the accident resulted from negligence and carelessness on the part of the driver. Legal proceedings are being considered against the driver, who was also reportedly injured in the crash.
Visuals from the scene showed a heavily damaged bus at the base of the ravine, with rescue workers struggling to extract the injured from the wreckage.
