24 Die in Bus Crash in Northern Pakistan

At least 24 people were killed and two wounded when a passenger bus plunged into a deep river in northern Pakistan on Friday evening.

The search for at least 15 missing persons — presumed drowned after a pickup truck carrying them and 16 others plunged into the Kandia river in Kohistan. Only five of the passengers managed to jump out of the vehicle and swim to safety.

The ill-fated truck had been carrying a total 31 passengers from two different families, from the Upper Kohistan area, were on their way back from attending a wedding function.

As it attempted to cross the river over a wooden bridge, the bridge gave way under the load of the truck’s passengers and snapped, plunging the vehicle and its occupants into the fast-flowing water below.

At the moment, the flow of water in the river is prohibitively fast, due to which search teams are facing difficulties. However, Deputy Commissioner Upper Kohistan Hamidur Rehman has said that expert teams have been dispatched to fish out bodies from the river and are hopeful of making recoveries.

Kandia is located in Upper Kohistan, which has been badly affected by frequent flash floods, making its roads extremely dangerous for travel.