ISLAMABAD, June 29 (Xinhua) -- At least one child was killed and 41 others sustained injuries after a school bus plunged into a ditch in Pakistan's northwest Swat district on Friday, said rescue officials.
The spokesperson of Rescue 1122 Shafiqa Gul said in a statement that the bus was taking the children home from their school when it encountered an accident in the Asala area in the Khwazakhela region of the district.
Locals, police and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and injured to nearby hospitals.
Medics in the hospitals feared that the death toll might further rise as six of the injured were in critical condition.
District Police Officer Swat Zahidullah told local media that the accident occurred after the careless and unfit 70-year-old driver lost control on a narrow road.
According to local reports, the bus driver had been involved in another bus accident previously, which killed four children and left 30 others injured in the district in 2021.
The police officer added that an immediate inquiry had been launched into the incident and strict action would be taken against the school's management and the driver who jumped from the bus and ran away. ■