A bus has veered into a ravine in Pakistan's far north, a local government spokesman says, killing 20 passengers and injuring 21 others.
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The bus was headed to the mountainous northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan from the garrison city of Rawalpindi in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab when the accident happened early on Friday.
"The bus was passing through Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan when it fell into a deep ravine," local government spokesman Faizullah Firaq told Reuters, adding that 21 people were injured.
He said the government immediately launched a rescue operation to evacuate the injured, who were taken to hospital.
Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan, where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads in many rural areas are in poor condition.
Pakistan has for decades carried out extensive work in carving roads through its dramatic rugged northern terrain, home to some of the world's highest mountain ranges, approached by narrow roads perched on sheer cliffs.
Militant attacks - including one in March nearby in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that killed six people - pose another risk to travellers in the area, targeting Chinese-backed dams and hydropower infrastructure projects.
Australian Associated Press
