Vikrant Shekhawat : Nov 13, 2024, 08:47 AM
PoK Road Accident: News of a tragic accident has come from Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. A bus full of passengers fell into the Indus River, in which 16 people have been confirmed dead so far. According to the report, all the people on the bus were going to attend a wedding ceremony. The local administration and police have started relief and rescue operations at the spot, but it is feared that the death toll may increase.How did the accident happen?According to the 'Dawn' newspaper, the accident occurred when a bus was going from Astor to Chakwal district of Punjab. The bus went out of control near Telchi bridge and fell into the Indus River. After the accident, the administration sent a relief team to the spot and 16 bodies have been recovered from the river. Apart from this, a woman has been found injured, who has been sent to a nearby hospital for treatment.Search for other passengers continuesLocal police said that most of the passengers in the bus were going for the same wedding ceremony. After this tragic accident in the mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan, search operations are underway in the river to find other passengers. The rescue work is being hampered due to the difficult geographical conditions of the area, yet the team is engaged in search and rescue with all its might.Painful reminder of the recent blast in BalochistanThis accident is reminiscent of the terrorist attack in Balochistan, another province of Pakistan, last week, when 26 people were killed and 62 injured in a suicide bombing in Quetta. The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for this attack. After the attack, the Pakistan government suspended rail services in Balochistan for four days due to security reasons. This accident reflects the instability in Balochistan and the increasing violence there, due to which the citizens there are constantly being affected.The need for security and relief efforts in Gilgit-Baltistan and BalochistanThis recent tragedy in Gilgit-Baltistan and the suicide attack in Balochistan have raised the need for relief efforts amid traveller safety, transport challenges and terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Travellers are often forced to make risky journeys due to the lack of road safety in mountainous regions like Gilgit-Baltistan.The government is expected to take strong measures to make transport facilities safer and relief operations more smooth.