Dubai: Around 27 passengers, including 10 soldiers, have died and many other sustained injuries in a freak bus accident on Babusar Pass in the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan in the northern areas of Pakistan.
According to Faizullah Firaq, spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan government, the accident happened early Sunday morning.
Firaq said that the deceased and injured, which included Pakistan Army troops, have been transported to the district headquarters hospital in Chilas, Dawn news reported. He added that the process of identifying the deceased was under way.
According to Diamer police spokesperson Mohammad Wakeel, the passenger bus, belonging to a private company, had departed from Skardu on Saturday night for Rawalpindi.
He said that early Sunday morning, the driver lost control of the bus and it slammed into a mountainside. It is not clear yet how the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Firaq said that the injured were were moved to Gilgit in a helicopter.
He expressed his gratitude with the force commander for providing a Pakistan Army helicopter for the rescue mission, adding that an ambulance of the Army was also taking part in the rescue operation.
The Babusar Pass road, frequently used by tourists, remains open from the end of June to October every year. It then remains closed following heavy snowfall at Babusar Top.
