Pakistan: bus with 50 people aboard plunges into river in quake-stricken

A bus with 50 people on board plunged into a river gorge in a quake-stricken area of northeastern Pakistan on Sunday, an aid group reported, saying there were some deaths.

The bus fell several meters (yards) into the Neelum River about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistan-controlled section of Kashmir, said Ghulam Ullah Azad, a spokesman for the Islamic charity Jamat-e-Dawad.

Government officials were not immediately able to confirm the crash.

Azad said the crash resulted in some deaths, and that United Nations and government rescuers had been notified. "Our people have reached the site of the accident and are trying to pull out bodies," Azad said. "We don't know whether there are any survivors."

Muzaffarabad and its surroundings were devastated by the Oct. 8 earthquake, which killed more than 86,000 people. Many roads were blocked by landslides or disappeared over the sides of cliffs, making land travel in the area extremely dangerous, reported AP. P.T.