ISLAMABAD: Five people were killed and 13 others injured when a passenger bus overturned in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province early on Thursday, according to an updated report from the district’s emergency rescue service.

The accident occurred near Fatehke in Pindi Bhattian, part of Hafizabad district. Dawn reported that the bus was traveling from Raiwind to Chiniot when it plunged into a drain.

The crash adds to Pakistan’s substantial road-safety burden. The World Health Organization estimated that 27,568 people died in road traffic incidents in the country in 2021, according to its 2023 global road safety report.

“Probable Reason: Due to drowsiness,” the Hafizabad rescue control room’s report stated.

The assessment was preliminary and did not establish the circumstances in which the driver lost control.

Rescuers received the emergency call at 4:20 a.m. and deployed 14 personnel, four ambulances, a motorcycle and a fire vehicle.

The injured were taken to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Pindi Bhattian. The updated report recorded five deaths and marked the rescue operation as completed.

A report in Dawn newspaper reported a higher injury toll and attributed the crash to speeding. The updated district control room report supplied to Arab News listed 13 injured and drowsiness as the probable cause.