At least 40 people were killed and eight others injured on Friday when a passenger bus travelling from Quetta to Peshawar plunged into a deep ravine near the Dhana Sar area on the Sherani-Zhob Highway, close to the Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border. The Medical Emergency Response Centre confirmed the recovery of 40 bodies, with the injured shifted to the Trauma Centre in Zhob.
What happened in the Sherani bus crash?
The bus lost control and fell into a ravine in the Dhana Sar area, a remote mountainous stretch of the Sherani-Zhob Highway near the Balochistan-KP border. Sherani Deputy Commissioner Hazrat Wali Kakar confirmed that rescue teams and ambulances were dispatched immediately after the crash. Rescue efforts to recover bodies and assist the injured were continuing as of Friday.
The bus had originally departed Quetta carrying 36 passengers, but picked up additional travelers after another bus broke down en route. KP Rescue 1122 said 48 passengers were on board at the time of the crash. Six ambulances, 12 emergency medical technicians, and 10 light transport vehicles were deployed to the scene.
Shah Fahad, Director General Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, confirmed to Nukta that 48 people were on board when the incident occurred. "40 passengers died at the scene, while the eight injured received initial medical treatment before being shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Zhob," he said.
Fahad said the site was near KP's Dera Ismail Khan district, allowing Rescue 1122 teams to reach the area quickly after the emergency was reported.
"Preliminary findings suggest the bus went out of control due to excessive speed and plunged off the road," he said.
He added that authorities are working to identify the victims. "If any of those killed are confirmed to be residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Rescue 1122 will transport their bodies to their native towns by ambulance," Fahad said.
Who carried out the rescue operation?
The rescue effort was coordinated jointly by Rescue 1122, the Frontier Corps, police, and district administrations from both Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Officials said the rugged mountainous terrain complicated the operation, but that rescue work remained underway. Emergencies were declared at hospitals in Sherani and Dera Ismail Khan to prepare for the injured.
Balochistan Chief Minister's media aide Shahid Rind said the rescue operation was launched on the directives of Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, with authorities from both provinces coordinating the response. The Balochistan government expressed condolences to the families of the victims. Authorities also said an investigation had been launched to determine the cause of the accident.
*With additional reporting by Kamran Ali.
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