13 killed as van plunges into ravine in Pakistan

DADU/ HYDERABAD, (Dawn) April 22: At least 13 passengers, including four children, were killed and 20 others injured when a van fell into a ravine in the mountainous Jamshoro-Kohistan region on Monday night, officials said.

Jamshoro Deputy Commissioner Ghazanfar Qadri told Dawn that the passengers were returning to Badin from Balochistan and most of them were members of the Kohli community.

He said that the tragic accident took place at the Taung area of Thana Bula Khan in Jamshoro district. He said that it appeared that the vehicle’s brakes failed and the driver lost control.

The DC said that rescue workers reached the scene and retrieved the bodies and shifted some of the injured persons to a nearby basic health unit.

PPP MNA Malik Asad Sikandar told Dawn that rescue workers were facing difficulties due to darkness but all-out efforts were being made to shift the injured to nearby hospitals.