GILGIT, Nov 13 (DAWN): Twenty-six pe­o­ple, part of a wedding party, drowned after their bus plunged into the Indus River in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan on Tues­day.

Diamer SSP Sher Khan said that the bus, coming from the Astore district of GB, was part of a wedding procession heading towards Punjab’s Chakwal district.

It plunged into the river at Telchi Bridge at 1 pm after the driver reportedly lost control due to speeding.

According to officials, 27 people were on the bus at the time of the accident. Rescuers recovered 13 bodies from the river while the bride was rescued in injured condition and moved to the RHQ Hospital in Gilgit, where she succumbed to her injuries.

The remaining 12 missing persons have been presumed dead. However, the search for them was ongoing despite the freezing temperature, officials said.

Among the victims, 19 belonged to Astore, while four, including the groom, were from Chakwal.

The Diamer deputy commissioner and superintendent supervised the rescue operation in which five local divers and two boats took part. The bus’ wreckage was pulled out of the river with the help of a crane.

The search for missing persons will be expanded to other areas along the river today (Wednesday), according to officials.

Police have appealed to the population along the river to keep searching for the dead bodies.

According to GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, the contractors working on the Diamer Bhasha Dam, which is being built near the region, have also been mobilised to aid in search activities near their camps.

Authorities have also requested the navy to send its divers to help in the search operation, APP reported while quoting Faraq.