24 soldiers killed in van crash in N Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - At least 24 soldiers were killed and four others injured when a van fell into a ravine in Pakistan's northwest Kohistan district on early Saturday morning, police said.

Akbar Ali, District Police Officer of Kohistan said that the van carrying 29 soldiers fell into a ravine while negotiating a sharp turn at Karakorum Highway in Kohistan area, an administrative district in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The soldiers' van was on its way to Gilgit Baltistan from northern Rawalpindi city when it met the accident, he said.

Rescue workers together with local people recovered the injured people and bodies from the ravine and shifted them to a nearby rural health center from where they would be airlifted to army hospital Rawalpindi via Army helicopter, said the D.P.O.

Pakistan is among the countries having worst record of fatal traffic accidents, mainly due to poor roads, lack of driving skills, badly maintained vehicles and violation of road safety rules.