10 killed in mountain bus plunge

A passenger bus veered off a mountain road and fell into a ravine north-east of the Pakistani capital today, killing 10 people and injuring 25 others.

Eight people died at the scene of the bus crash near Nathiagali, a resort town about 30 miles north-east of Islamabad, said Iqbal Hussain, a police official. Two injured people died at a hospital.

Local villagers helped police pull the dead and injured from the wreckage of the bus, Hussain said.

The bus was heading from Ayubia, another town in the mountainous area, to Rawalpindi, a city near Islamabad.

Road accidents involving multiple casualties are common in Pakistan, and most are blamed on widespread disregard for traffic rules.