LAHORE: At least three people were killed and several others sustained injuries on Tuesday after a passenger bus veered off the road and fell into a deep ravine near the Lower Barrian area of Murree, according to initial reports from rescue officials.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious human lives in the accident. In an official statement issued on Tuesday, the Chief Minister extended her heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and offered all possible assistance for the better treatment of the injured at hospitals in Murree and other parts of Punjab.
Rescue officials said more than 20 passengers were on board when the bus went off the hillside road and dropped into the ravine below. Initial reports placed the death toll at three, with several people reported to have sustained serious injuries. Relief operations were under way through the day.
The statement issued by the Chief Minister’s office referred to the crash site as near Lower Barrian, Murree, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — a reflection of the area’s position close to the administrative boundary between Punjab’s Murree tehsil and adjoining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa territory. That proximity shaped the response, drawing emergency teams from both provinces to the same site.
Rescue 1122 Murree dispatched relief teams to the location as soon as information about the accident was received. Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also alerted and mobilised its Murree-based rescue teams after being informed of the crash.
Given the scale of the accident, additional rescue personnel and resources were sent to the site to support the operation. Recovering casualties from a ravine typically requires rope work, stretcher relays and manual extraction over unstable ground — conditions that slow evacuation and place a premium on manpower.
Local residents joined the relief effort on their own initiative, helping to shift the injured to safety. The transfer of critically injured victims to private hospitals, assisted by local residents, continued as the operation progressed.
Following the accident, Civil Hospital Murree and the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital Murree were placed on alert to receive casualties. The Chief Minister’s offer of assistance extended beyond Murree, covering treatment at hospitals in other parts of Punjab — an indication that patients requiring specialised trauma care could be referred onward to larger facilities.
Murree remains one of the most heavily travelled hill destinations in the region, and its approach roads are narrow, steep and lined with sharp drops. Passenger buses share those routes with private vehicles and tourist traffic throughout the year, leaving little margin for mechanical failure or misjudgement on a descent.
Tuesday’s crash renews long-standing questions about vehicle fitness checks, driver hours and crash barriers on hill routes — issues that surface after each such incident and that road safety advocates have repeatedly raised with provincial transport authorities.
Rescue authorities had not issued a final casualty figure at the time of reporting, and the toll may change as the operation concludes and injured passengers are assessed at hospital. The cause of the accident had not been officially determined.
The Lahore Times will update this report as verified details become available.
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