A wedding, the most beautiful day in a couple's life, has turned into a huge tragedy for the families of a bride and groom in Pakistan. At least 27 people drowned and another was injured last night after a bus carrying the newlyweds and guests of a wedding fell into the Indus River in the northern part of the country, official sources told Efe on Wednesday.
The incident took place at 00:30 local time (19:30 GMT on Tuesday) as the vehicle was traveling from the Gilgit Baltistan region to a village in the Pakistani province of Punjab.
"While taking a turn on the bridge, the bus fell into the Indus River due to speeding," said a spokesperson for the provincial government of Punjab, Faizullah Faraq, on Wednesday.
The bus was carrying 28 people, including a newlywed couple and a group of wedding guests. The bride was the only survivor.
"As a result, 27 people, including the bus driver, drowned. Only the bride was rescued alive and is now out of danger," Faraq added.
According to the spokesperson, eighteen bodies have been recovered so far during the rescue operation, which is ongoing to find the remaining bodies and will be expanded to other areas along the river, as the bodies could have drifted due to the water current. "The search for the nine remaining bodies presumed dead resumed this morning," he said.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his condolences for the incident and instructed rescue teams to expedite the necessary efforts to find the missing passengers, according to a statement released by his office on Tuesday.
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the world due to the poor state of its roads, vehicle deficiencies, and public transportation often being overloaded with passengers.
At least 36 people died and dozens were injured in two bus accidents in August of this year.
Meanwhile, in May, another 24 people died and 20 were injured when a passenger bus fell into a deep trench in the mountainous area of the Washuk district in the southwest province of Baluchistan.