Nineteen killed after bus plunges from mountain road in Pakistan

Emergency responders still on the scene

Mountain roads in the Gilgit Baltistan region are known to be dangerous (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A passenger bus tumbled off a winding mountainous road and into a ravine in northern Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring several others, a government spokesperson said.

The cause of the accident was unclear, and emergency responders were still working at the scene recovering the injured and the dead and taking them to a nearby hospital, said Faiz Ullah Faraq, spokesperson for the Gilgit Baltistan region.

Such accidents are common in Pakistan, mainly due to insufficient enforcement of safety standards and poor infrastructure, particularly on battered mountain roads.

Mr Faraq said the bus had been headed to the town of Skardu in the Gilgit Baltistan region from the garrison city of Rawalpindi. He gave no further details.

Skardu serves as the gateway to K-2, the world's highest peak after Mount Everest, which is also part of the Himalayas.

Large numbers of local and foreign tourists visit the peak annually. Skardu is around 150 miles north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

Associated Press