Peshawar: At least 24 people, including women and children, were drowned when a bridge collapsed and a bus they were travelling in plunged into a ditch in Pakistan's northwest, police said.

The incident occurred on Friday when the bus, carrying 35 passengers, was going to Kandia from Bagru of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

"All 24 people belonging to the same tribe drowned when a bridge collapsed and the bus they were travelling in plunged into a stream," Ahsanul Haq, the chief civil defence warden said.

The incident happened because the bridge, which was in a dilapidated condition, could not bear burden of the heavily loaded bus, Haq said.

District police chief of Upper Kohistan Raja Abdul Saboor said: "The police and rescue teams rushed to the spot to retrieve the bodies." 

"It is a rugged mountainous area with no communication facilities and the people engaged in rescue activities are facing difficulties because of darkness." 

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Bengaluru (PTI): Six faculty members of a dental college here have been suspended by the management pending further inquiry into the death of a 23-year-old student by suicide.

In an official communication dated January 12, Bengaluru-based institution, The Oxford Dental College, said that the inquiry in the matter would continue and that the suspension would remain in force till further notification.

The suspended faculty members include senior lecturers Anmol Razdan, Shabana Banu, Faika Kolkar and Alba Dinesh, Reader Sindhu R, and Professor Sushmini Hegde, all from the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, the communication said.

The action comes after a third-year dental student of the college, Yashaswini, was found hanging at her residence here on Friday.

Family members have accused the college management of harassing her, alleging that she was subjected to humiliation, which drove her to take the extreme step.

She was the only child of her parents, Parimala and Bhudevaiah, police added. According to her mother, Yashaswini had taken leave on Wednesday, citing eye pain.

When she returned to college the following day, she was allegedly humiliated in front of other students for not participating in a seminar, her mother alleged.

Following Yashaswini's death, aggrieved students staged a sit-in protest outside the morgue, demanding action against those responsible.

Police said a case has been registered in connection with the incident, and further investigation is underway.