Pakistan bus accident toll rises to 26

Islamabad, July 31 (IANS) The deaths among a wedding party whose bus was swept away by flash floods in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agency on Saturday, have risen to 26, an official said on Sunday morning.

As many as 11 more bodies were recovered from a ravine, Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying.

At least 26 bodies and three injured have been retrieved so far while one person is still missing, the official said.

The accident occurred on Saturday morning when a vehicle carrying 30 wedding guests was washed off a mountainous road and plunged into a gorge in remote Tabai area.

The injured were shifted to a hospital in Landi Kotal area.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the accident.

Sharif also directed that effective relief be rendered and medical treatment given to the survivors.