Two passengers were killed and 16 others, including three foreign nationals, were injured when a passenger bus to Rawalpindi left the road and fell on Tuesday, officials reported.
According to Raja Mumtaz, the house officer of the station of Serai Saleh (SHO), the accident occurred near the Shah Maqsood exchanger, about six kilometers from the district headquarters on the Hazara highway.
The Sho awarded the accident to reckless driving, although some passengers said that the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
The bus, which left Gilgit early Tuesday, was traveling at high speed when the driver lost control, which plunged him into the drain by the road. The inhabitants and the rescuers rushed to the scene, transporting the wounded to the Haripur Trauma Center. Unfortunately, two passengers were declared dead when they arrived.
Five passengers suffered serious injuries and were transferred to the Pakistan Medical Sciences Institute in Islamabad, while 11 other people with minor injuries were treated and released. The deceased was identified as Masroor, 55, from Yaseen Gilgit, and Zameer Abbas, 42, from Astore.
Among the wounded were a teenager and three foreign nationals, John, citizen of the Czech Republic, and two Chinese nationals, Zu Chongzhi and Lyu Li Dong.
