15 killed as floodwaters overturn bus in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Fifteen people were killed and 16 missing after gushing floodwaters overturned a bus in central Pakistan Monday, police said.

The accident occurred near Khad Buzdar village of Taunsa city, around 400 km south-west of Islamabad.

“The rescue workers have recovered 15 bodies and rescued 28 people so far,” Amjad Dogar, a senior police official in Taunsa said. “We are searching for 16 others who are still missing.”

The bus was bound for the north-western city of Peshawar from the southern port city of Karachi with 59 people on board.

Iftikhar Ali, a civilian administrator in the region, said that the authorities had closed the road due to floods surging in the mountain torrents from the Suleman Range.

“But the driver ignored the warning and tried to drive through the water but the water had lot of force and it overturned the bus,” Ali said.

Floods that started with heavy monsoon rains in late July have devastated large areas of Pakistan, destroying roads and bridges. The floods have killed more than 1,600 people and affected some 20 million.