Three killed as landslide hits bus on Karakoram Highway

Upper Kohistan: Three passengers were killed when a bus was hit by a landslide on the Karakoram highway in the Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The accident occurred late at night on the Karakoram highway in the limits of Lotar police station Daso area of ​​Upper Kohistan, while the Karakoram highway from Bisham to Diamar district of Gilgit-Baltistan was blocked at many places due to landslides that occurred after heavy rains in the entire region on Sunday night.

A Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO) passenger bus going to Gilgit was hit by a landslide.

District Police Officer (DPO) Upper Kohistan Mukhtiar Ahmed said that the bus was hit by large stones as a result of which three passengers were killed and one was injured.

He stated that the bodies and the injured were shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital. Two of the dead belonged to Gilgit-Baltistan while one was a resident of Rawalpindi.

DPO added that two army personnel and one civilian were among the dead.

The rescue spokesperson said that there was heavy rain in the area and the Karakoram highway was blocked at several places due to which passengers coming and going from Islamabad were stuck on the way.

On the other hand, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said in its released weather advisory today that more rains are likely in some parts of the province.

It stated that there is a risk of landslides, flooding of rivers and canals, urban flooding, and strong winds due to rain.

The PDMA appealed to the public to avoid traveling to the hilly areas of the Northern Territory and asked the public to avoid unnecessary travel and take safety precautions during inclement weather.