32 die in Pakistan road accident

Thirty-two people have died in a road accident where a bus crashed into a pylon due to over-speeding in Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab.

Local authorities said during the early hours of Saturday a passenger bus smashed into a roadside electricity pole near the Sheikhupura district, located about 40 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Lahore. About 40 others were also injured.

The bodies were transferred to local hospitals, with many of the wounded in critical condition and expected to push the death toll higher.

Separately, at least 50 people were injured when a bus overturned near the southern city of Hub in Balochistan Province on Saturday.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan due to poor road construction, lack of proper driving skills, badly maintained vehicles and routine disregard of traffic laws.

On March 16, a bus plunged into the Indus River in the Kohistan district of the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing nearly two dozen Pakistani army personnel and injuring several others.