Pakistan: 18 pilgrims dead, over 50 injured as truck en route to Shah Noorani shrine falls into ravine

A deadly truck accident in Balochistan’s Hub district late Wednesday night has claimed at least 18 lives and injured more than 50 after a vehicle fell in a ditch, local news reported.

“The truck was overspeeding and it went out of the driver’s control while negotiating a turn” and fell into a ravine in a mountainous town as they approached the shrine, the Police confirmed.

The passengers were on their way to the Shah Noorani Sufi shrine in the city of Khuzdar, according to reports, when the accident happened during Eid al-Fitr.

Road accidents with high fatalities are common in Pakistan where safety measures are lax, driver training is poor and transport infrastructure often decrepit.

Almost 100 people were killed last year alone during road incidents involving poor driving.