On 29 January 2023, a bus carrying at least 43 people plunged into a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Bela Tehsil Bela ( ur, ) is an administrative subdivision ( tehsil) of Lasbela District Lasbela District (Urdu and bal, , Sindhi Lasi: لسبيلو) is a coastal district of Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is also called Sassi-Punnu Garh () amon ...

Lasbela District Lasbela District (Urdu and bal, , Sindhi Lasi: لسبيلو) is a coastal district of Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is also called Sassi-Punnu Garh () among localites. History Alexander the Great passed through Lasbela on his way ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastl ...

, Pakistan. The crash initially killed 40 people and injured three, one of whom died shortly after. The two remaining survivors were in a "serious" condition.

Crash

The bus was en route to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

from

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of the ...

when it crashed into a pillar of a bridge which led to its fall, according to Lasbela's assistant commissioner Hamza Anjum. Head of the local rescue service Asghar Ramazan told Agence France-Presse that the bus was "loaded with containers of oil." Most of the bodies of the dead were burned beyond recognition, and were taken to Karachi where

DNA testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

would be used to establish their identities.

Aftermath

The chairman of the

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

and foreign minister

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ( ur, بلاول بھٹو زرداری; born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who is serving as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office since 27 April 2022. He became the chairman of Pakistan Peopl ...

said the entire country was saddened and that he sends his condolences. He said an investigation into the crash will be carried out.

Investigation

Lasbela Deputy Commissioner Murad Kasi said the cause of the accident was speeding, with the driver losing control of the vehicle while making a

U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a ...

. There were unconfirmed reports that the bus was transporting smuggled Iranian oil. The All Quetta-Karachi Coaches Union blamed the crash on slippery roads and a

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...

in the bus' wiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lasbela bus crash, 2023 2023 fires in Asia 2023 in Balochistan, Pakistan 2023 road incidents in Asia Bus incidents in Pakistan Disasters in Balochistan, Pakistan Fires in Pakistan January 2023 events in Pakistan 2023 bus crash Vehicle fires in Asia

Crash

Aftermath

Investigation

See also

References