More Than 50 Die In Two Pakistan Accidents

 

More than 50 people have been killed in two separate travel-related accidents in Pakistan on Sunday.

At least 41 people died when a bus fell into a ravine and caught fire in the south-west, while in the north-west at least 10 children drowned in a boating accident.

All the dead recovered so far at the lake were aged between seven and 14.

At the bus crash site, a local official said the bodies were "beyond recognition".

The crash occurred near the southern city of Bela, in Balochistan Province, when it was travelling to the port city of Karachi.

Local official Hamza Anjum told AFP news agency that 40 bodies were found alongside three injured people, one of whom died shortly after. The two remaining survivors were in a "serious" condition.

The bus reportedly hit a pillar on a bridge before the crash.

"We will investigate the causes of the accident," Mr Anjum said, adding that DNA tests would be used to determine the identity of the remains.

The boat capsized on Tanda Dam, a lake near Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, close to the border with Afghanistan.

Local police official Mir Rauf told AFP that as well as the 10 who died, 11 children had been rescued, with six in critical condition. Another nine are believed to be missing.

The boat they were travelling on was carrying more than two dozen people on a daytrip from a local madrassa - Islamic school - when it overturned.

"A rescue operation is under way," Mr Rauf said.

Furqan Khan, the deputy commissioner of Korat, told Reuters there had been incidents in the past and police had closed the lake for recreational trips.

Video footage by local broadcasters and on social media showed rescuers in the water.

- BBC