Rajanpur bus accident kills 5, injures 20 others as 'driver falls asleep'

• Rescue teams rush injured to hospitals.
• Ill-fated bus carried devotees of a Sufi saint.
• Woman and children among deceased. 

RAJANPUR: At least five people were killed, and 20 others were severely injured when a bus overturned in the Fazilpur area of Punjab's Rajanpur district on Sunday morning.

With the devotees of a Sufi saint aboard, the bus was on its way back to Jacobabad from Sakhi Sarwar, when it turned turtle after the driver lost control of it as he "fell asleep", rescue officials said.

Rescue teams rushed to the site of the accident immediately after receiving the news and transferred the injured to hospitals.

People with severe injuries were shifted to Rajanpur district hospital, while the others were shifted to a local hospital in Fazilpur.

Deceased passengers of the ill-fated bus included a woman and two children.

Rescue services district incharge Dr Aslam said that the accident took place as the driver of the bus lost control due to falling asleep.

The accident comes days after another bus tragedy in the Geeti-Das area near Babusar Top, which killed eight people and injured several others.

The tourist bus fell into a deep gorge while navigating a sharp turn on the mountainous terrain, and caught fire on Friday.

Before that, six people were killed in a similar bus accident in the Thalichi area of Diamer district on July 16.