A government source said on Sunday that a bus in southern Pakistan crashed into a ravine and caught fire, killing at least 40 passengers on board.

National newspaper Dawn said that the bus had been driving overnight between Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, and Karachi, the port city when it slammed into a bridge pillar and plunged into a ravine.

Pakistan Bus Accident Kills 41 People

Hamza Anjum, a government official, told reporters at the accident site that he believed the bus was carrying 48 people and that the driver may have fallen asleep during the long ride. The distance between the two cities is greater than 360 miles.

Anjum stated that three bus passengers were saved following the accident, but one died en route to the hospital. He noted that the bodies retrieved from the crash were "beyond recognition" and that DNA testing would be required to determine their identities.

Per NY Times, Pakistan has one of the worst records in the world for fatal road accidents. The local authorities ascribe the tens of thousands of fatalities annually on poorly maintained roads and automobiles and reckless driving by motorists who defy traffic laws.

According to a December 2018 estimate by the World Health Organization, more than 27,000 people die yearly in traffic accidents in Pakistan. Twenty passengers died in southern Pakistan in November when a small bus plunged into a deep ditch filled with floods.

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Pakistan Boat Accident Kills 10 Children

According to Mirror, images from the crash site depicted a burned bus beneath the bridge. It was stated that the vehicle was speeding before striking a bridge pillar, causing it to tumble into a ravine and catch fire.

The victims' bodies are being brought to Karachi for identification and returned to the victims' families. Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, the chief minister of Balochistan, expressed regret for the loss of life and instructed officials to give the injured the most advanced medical care.

According to officials, at least ten children drowned in a separate event in Pakistan's northwest on Sunday. Children from a religious school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were touring Tanda Dam when their boat sank in a lake. Local police spokesman Qismat Khan said six of the 25 rescued youngsters are in critical condition.

Mir Rauf, a local police officer, reported that all of the bodies retrieved from Tanda Dam lake in Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region were between seven and fourteen years old. Rauf said eleven children were retrieved from the water, and six were in critical condition. When the boat capsized, it was carrying between 25 and 30 pupils on a day excursion from a local madrassa.

In Pakistan, it is typical for aging and overcrowded vessels to lose stability and toss people into the ocean, resulting in mass drownings. Many Americans cannot swim, especially women who are prevented from learning due to traditional societal norms.

After being drenched, their full-body garments also weigh them down. In July, 18 women perished when a boat transporting a wedding party across the Indus River in Punjab province sank due to overcrowding, ABCNews reported.

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