QUETTA: At least 20 people were killed and 13 were wounded when a Quetta-bound passenger van from Rawalpindi plunged into a ditch in Balochistan’s Zhob Division, rescue workers said.

“All the injured people and some bodies have been shifted to the district headquarters hospital Zhob,” Assistant Commissioner Sherani Sheikh Asmatullah said in a statement.

The incident happened in the Dhana Sar area of the Sehrani district of Zhob division due to slipperiness caused by rain on the road. Four bodies have been shifted to Zhob DHQ while 15 were dispatched to the Mughal Kot hospital.

Rescue workers said that around 33 people were on board the van.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration, police, and Rescue 1122 are on the spot.

In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the loss of lives and called for providing immediate medical aid to the injured people. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo was also grieved over the loss of lives, said an official handout.

Bizenjo directed the Zhob administration and Rescue 1122 to start the medical assistance service. He prayed for the forgiveness of the victims and speedy recovery of the injured.