At least 32 people were killed and 16 others injured after an overcrowded passenger bus fell into a ravine in southwestern Pakistan.

The bus was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar when it crashed in the Dana Sar mountain range, on the border between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, around 08:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Friday.

A government official at Zhob Hospital told BBC News that a total of 48 people, including several women and children, were on board when the accident occurred.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, but preliminary reports suggest that steering failure may have led the driver to lose control before skidding off the ridge.

Photographs from the scene showed the bus seriously damaged after falling to the bottom of the ravine.

Authorities confirmed that the injured were taken to the district’s central hospital in Zhob, about 68 kilometers (42 miles) from the crash site.

“The bus fell approximately 70 to 80 feet [21-24m] into the ravine,” Sanaullah Sherani, head of the Zhob district emergency service, told AFP.

Dozens of first responders and ambulances responded to the scene after the accident, but rescue and recovery efforts were hampered by the difficult terrain.

The bodies of the deceased were also taken to the hospital and, once identified, will be transported by ambulance to their places of origin.

Shahid Rind, spokesman for the Balochistan chief minister, said initial information showed that the bus was overcrowded after carrying additional passengers from another bus that had broken down.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the deaths.

In a post on

“I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said, adding that immediate medical assistance was being provided to the injured.

Fatal accidents are common on Pakistan’s roads, often caused by reckless driving, poor road surfaces and vehicles in poor condition.

In 2024, at least 17 pilgrims were killed and another 40 injured after his bus fell into a ravine while traveling to Balochistan for Eid celebrations.