Passenger van falls into ravine in northwestern Pakistan, killing 11

Passenger van falls into ravine in northwestern Pakistan, killing 11

2012-02-02 08:25:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

DIR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Eleven people were killed on Wednesday when a van plunged into a ravine in northwestern Pakistan, police said. Several others were injured.

Police sources told Geo TV that the van, carrying about 20 people, went off a road and plunged down a ravine in Sher Bangal, which is located in the Upper Dir district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

The news channel said eight passengers died at the scene of the accident while three others later succumbed to their injuries after emergency teams rushed them to area hospitals. Nine others were also reported injured, but their conditions were not immediately know.

Reports said the accident was likely the result of speeding.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan with more than 5,500 fatalities in 2007, according to the most recent figures released by national police. Many accidents are the result of poor infrastructure and the disregard of traffic laws.

On November 13, at least 23 people were killed when a van collided head-on with a passenger bus on a highway near the historic town of Thatta in Sindh province. The speeding passenger van was attempting to overpass a bus when it crashed into a bus coming from the opposite direction.

And in late September, at least 38 people were killed when a school bus carrying more than 100 young people overturned near the town of Kallar Kahar in Pakistan's Punjab province. Around 70 others were injured.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-02