Islamabad, August 06: A bus has plunged into a raging river in the Skardu district in Pakistan’s mountainous north with all except one of its 35 passengers feared dead.
The bus, carrying 35 people, including 27 soldiers on leave, was en route to the town of Skardu when it fell several hundred meters into the Indus River near Rondo, about 80 kilometers short of its destination.
The bus faced a failure of the hydraulic braking system when it stopped at the top of a steep slope, came hurtling back and plunged into the swift-running river, Akhtar Abbas, a spokesman for the bus service, said on Thursday.
“It is next to impossible for someone to survive such a fall,” said Abbas, who, however, confirmed the conductor of the bus managed to escape and was taken to hospital.
The river’s strong currents are hampering rescuers and locals who are looking for any possible survivors and the bodies of the victims, which are believed to have been swept away.
—-Agencies