Pakistan crash 'leaves 20 dead'

Twenty people have been killed and 27 others injured in a passenger bus crash in Pakistan, according to police.

The bus plunged into a gorge near Kallar Kehar on the highway connecting the capital, Islamabad, with Lahore late on Thursday, the police said.

The police suspect failure of breaks in the vehicle may have caused it to skid off the highway.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan, with hundreds killed annually.

Workers took hours to rescue passengers trapped in the wreckage, a spokesman for a welfare organisation working in the area said.

Correspondents say the crash happened on a 10km stretch of the highway where drivers often violate the top speed limit of 50km per hour.

In February, at least seven school children were killed and another seven wounded when a bus carrying students toppled over on the highway due to over speeding.