Sherani-Zhob highway
Difficult mountainous terrain has complicated rescue efforts, but operations remain underway
QUETTA
At least 40 people were killed and eight others injured when a New Mekhtar passenger coach travelling from Quetta to Peshawar plunged into a deep ravine in the Danasar area on the Sherani–Zhob highway, near the border between Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), on Friday.
According to the Medical Emergency Response Centre (MERC), 40 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, while eight injured passengers have been shifted to the Trauma Centre in Zhob. Six ambulances, 12 emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and 10 light transport vehicle (LTV) drivers were deployed as part of the rescue operation.
In a statement, K-P Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi said the bus was carrying 48 passengers when it crashed near Zhob. Faizi said eight injured passengers were given first aid at the scene before being shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Zhob.
According to rescue officials, teams from the Sherani district administration, Rescue 1122, police, the Frontier Corps (FC), and other relevant agencies rushed to the scene soon after the accident was reported. Rescue personnel from K-P also joined the operation. The difficult mountainous terrain hampered rescue efforts, but all injured passengers and the bodies of those killed were eventually recovered from the ravine and shifted to nearby hospitals.
The spokesperson said the bodies of 40 people killed in the crash were initially taken to a nearby Rural Health Centre (RHC) before being transferred to DHQ Hospital Zhob by joint teams from Rescue 1122 Frontier Region Darazinda and Emergency Services Zhob.
Faizi said Rescue 1122 personnel are working in coordination with Emergency Services Balochistan and other relevant agencies to provide timely assistance to the injured and support the families of those killed.
He added that, on the instructions of Rescue 1122 K-P Director General Shah Fahad, if any of the victims are identified as residents of K-P, Rescue 1122 will transport their bodies to their native areas in its ambulances with full respect.
Sherani Deputy Commissioner Hazrat Wali Kakar said the injured were being provided with immediate medical treatment, while arrangements were being made to transport the bodies of the deceased to their hometowns. Hospitals in Sherani and Dera Ismail Khan were placed on emergency footing following the accident.
