At least 30 people were killed and more than 70 injured in Pakistan when two buses collided in southern Punjab province, police said on Monday. The two buses, carrying around 100 passengers, collided on Monday in the town of Khanpur in Rahimyar Khan district, about 800 km south of the capital Islamabad. Images from the crash site showed a bus on its side with its windows shattered, and another bus with its roof partly caved in. Officials said the buses collided at about 6 a.m. (0100 GMT) near Rahim Yar Khan, a Punjab city about 600 km south of provincial capital Lahore. "Death toll has climbed to 30," Hassan Iqbal, police inspector of Rahim Yar Khan, said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's office said he has "expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives". Speeding seemed to be the cause of the accident, which occurred on a dangerous curve, said a police officer. One of the buses was on its way from Karachi to Lahore while the other was heading to Sadiqabad from Faisalabad, local newspapers reported. The police office said women and children were among those killed and injured. He said police and rescue officials were using cutters to retrieve bodies stuck inside the two buses. Mehar Arsal, a local police chief, said the buses slammed into trees after colliding with each other. Pakistan has a dismal record of fatal traffic accidents due to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. More than 4,600 people were killed in road traffic accidents in 2013, the last year the government released official data. — Agencies
