Pakistan bus crash kills 40 after vehicle plunges into ravine
Forty people were killed and eight injured after an overcrowded bus plunged into a rocky ravine in southwestern Pakistan.
Pakistan bus crash kills 40 after vehicle plunges into ravine
An overcrowded passenger bus plunged from a highway into a rocky ravine in southwestern Pakistan early Friday, July 3, 2026, killing 40 people and injuring eight others.
The vehicle was traveling from Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to Sanaullah Sherani, the head of Zhob district’s emergency centre, the bus fell approximately 70 to 80 feet (21 to 24 metres) into a deep ravine in the mountainous Dana Sar area.
The accident occurred in a remote region near the border of the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government, stated the bus lost control while speeding. Rind further noted that the vehicle was overcrowded because it was carrying its own passengers as well as people from another bus that had broken down.
Rescue officials reported the bus was carrying 48 passengers at the time of the crash.
Initial recovery efforts were hampered by the terrain. Sherani told the AFP news agency that rescue teams faced significant difficulties during the first phase of the operation because the accident happened in a rugged mountainous area. To retrieve the injured and the deceased, Fazal Din, a rescue department spokesman, said teams utilized cutters and machines.
While officials are still working to identify the victims, one survivor provided a different account of the events leading up to the plunge. Speaking from a hospital bed to local media, the injured passenger claimed that some passengers protested when the driver stopped to pick up people from the broken-down bus. He alleged that an argument ensued and one passenger grabbed the driver by the neck, after which the driver lost control. Police have not independently verified this account and stated an investigation is ongoing.
Mohamed Nasir, a police official, told the DPA news agency that speeding was a likely cause of the crash.
Emergency responses were coordinated across provincial lines. Shah Fahad, the director general of Rescue emergency services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said his agency worked alongside Balochistan’s emergency services. Fahad stated that if victims are confirmed as residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, authorities will transport their bodies by ambulance to their hometowns.
Regional government administrator Hazrat Wali Kakar said the dead and injured were transported to nearby hospitals. Eight injured passengers were treated at the scene before being moved to the district headquarters hospital in Zhob, while the 40 deceased were taken to a district hospital.
The disaster prompted responses from high-level government officials. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow and offered condolences to the families of the dead. He directed authorities to ensure the injured receive the best possible medical care. Similarly, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti expressed grief and ordered that the injured be provided with the best medical treatment.
The crash follows a pattern of frequent road accidents in Pakistan. Officials attribute these incidents to poor road conditions, weak traffic enforcement laws, reckless driving, and unsafe driving practices, particularly in mountainous regions. In May, a similar tragedy occurred in northwest Pakistan when a minibus rammed into a parked bus on a motorway, resulting in 17 deaths and five injuries.
