12 killed, 8 injured after bus overturns in Pakistan's Salt mountain range

According to Kalar Kahar Town Hospital official Amjad Hussain, seven bus passengers died in the hospital.

A bus traveling on a highway in Pakistan's Punjab province overturned after its breaks failed Saturday killing at least 12 people and leaving eight others injured, police and health officials said.

Traffic accidents are common in Pakistan, where safety standards are largely compromised. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Saqib Waheed, spokesman for the federal Motorway Police, said the bus was traveling from the capital Islamabad to the eastern city of Lahore when its breaks failed about 135 kilometers (85 miles) from the capital on a sharp turn in the Salt mountain range.

According to Kalar Kahar Town Hospital official Amjad Hussain, seven bus passengers died in the hospital. Five of the 12 dead, including women and children, died at the scene of the accident and eight injured passengers were still being treated.

Traffic accidents are common in Pakistan, where safety standards are largely compromised and traffic rules regularly violated and rarely enforced.