Minibus Crash Kills At Least 20 In Southern Pakistan

At least 20 people were killed, including 11 children, when a minibus crashed into a water-logged ditch in southern Pakistan, police said on November 18.

Local official Fariduddin Mustafa told RFE/RL that 10 other people were injured in the accident.

The accident occurred late at night in Sindh Province, Mustafa said.

"The driver could not see the diversion sign on the road and so the van plunged into an 8-meter-deep ditch" near the town of Sehwan Sharif, he said.

Pakistan has a high rate of road deaths, blamed on badly maintained highways and reckless driving.

The country was lashed by record monsoon rains this year that displaced 8 million people and battered its already crumbling infrastructure.

According to World Health Organization estimates, more than 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan's roads in 2018.