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Tragedy at the Border: 40 Dead, 8 Injured as Overloaded Passenger Bus Plunges Into Deep Dhanasar Ravine
At least 40 people were killed and eight injured on Friday when an overloaded passenger bus plunged 80 feet into a ravine near the Balochistan-KP border at Dhanasar. The Peshawar-bound bus had taken on extra passengers from a broken-down vehicle midway, prompting an official cross-provincial investigation into the fatal crash.
ND
by News Desk
2026-07-03
Tragedy at the Border: 40 Dead, 8 Injured as Overloaded Passenger Bus Plunges Into Deep Dhanasar Ravine

Detailed Report:

The Catastrophic Accident: A massive transit disaster on Friday, July 3, 2026, claimed the lives of 40 people and left eight others severely injured when a passenger bus veered off a mountainous highway and plummeted into a deep ravine. The Peshawar-bound transport fell approximately 70 to 80 feet down a rugged cliffside right at the territorial border dividing Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The accident occurred just as the vehicle cleared the Dhanasar area of Balochistan’s Sherani district and crossed into KP's Dera Ismail Khan region.

  • The Overloading Factor: According to official data from Sherani Deputy Commissioner (DC) Wali Khan Kakar, the vehicle initially departed from Quetta on Thursday evening carrying a standard manifest of 36 passengers. However, while en route, the driver picked up a large group of additional travelers stranded by another broken-down bus. This sudden influx severely overloaded the vehicle, leaving it critically off-balance as it navigated the notoriously steep, winding turns of the border highway.

  • Emergency and Medical Response: A coordinated inter-provincial rescue operation was immediately deployed under the direction of Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti. Disaster management units from Zhob Emergency Services and KP Rescue 1122 successfully pulled survivors from the crushed wreckage. First responders transported the eight injured victims to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Zhob, while the bodies of the deceased were initially processed at a rural health unit before being transferred to Zhob DHQ for formal identification.

  • State Condolences and Inquiries: The high-fatality crash triggered immediate statements of grief from Pakistan's top leadership. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued condolences to the grieving families and ordered the state apparatus to supply top-tier medical assistance to the survivors. Concurrently, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi directed emergency services to cooperate seamlessly across provincial lines to repatriate the deceased to their native towns with full respect, while Balochistan’s administration launched a formal inquiry to investigate the exact mechanical and structural failures behind the crash.
Tagged:

#BalochistanAccident #SheraniBusCrash #DhanasarTragedy #KPRescue1122 #ZhobDHQ #RoadSafetyPakistan #BreakingNewsPakistan
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