PESHAWAR: At least 16 people were killed and 22 others injured Saturday when a passenger bus collided with a lorry in a mountainous area of northwestern Pakistan, officials said.

The accident happened as the bus travelled from Karachi to the northwestern town of Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The driver lost control as he was overtaking a lorry on a sharp bend when another bus appeared from the opposite direction, local administration chief Sajjad Khan told AFP by telephone.

“The driver tried to avert a collision with the bus and smashed into the lorry which he had been overtaking,” Khan said quoting wounded passengers.

“At least 16 people were killed and 22 wounded, including women and children.”

He said Ispeena in the Karak district, where the accident took place, was very dangerous with drivers going to fast.

“We have one or two fatal accidents every week because drivers while descending usually lose control,” he said.