22 Killed in Bus Accident in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir

22 Killed in Bus Accident in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir
Soldiers arrive to conduct rescue operation to clear the track at the site of a train collision in the Ghotki district, southern Pakistan, on June 8, 2021. (Fareed Khan/AP Photo)
The Associated Press
11/4/2021
Updated:
11/4/2021

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan—At least 22 passengers were killed on Tuesday in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir after a bus they were on skidded off a mountain road and fell into a deep ravine, police said.

The accident happened in Pulandri, a district in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, senior police official Fayyaz Abbasi said. He said several passengers were also injured in the crash and rescuers transported the dead and injured to a nearby hospital.

It was not clear what caused the accident and police feared the death toll could rise as some injured were listed in critical condition.

Road accidents are common in mountainous Kashmir and elsewhere in Pakistan and are often blamed on poorly maintained vehicles and highways, and widespread disregards to traffic rules by drivers.

Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and neighboring India since their independence from British rule in 1947. The two countries each claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought three wars between them over it.