At least 12 passengers were killed and 22 others injured on Friday when a passenger coach and a minibus collided head-on near Zero Point in Uthal, on the Quetta-Karachi highway in Balochistan's Lasbela district, police said.

Police officials said the coach was travelling from Gwadar to Karachi when it hit the minibus near Bela. Seven passengers were killed on the spot, while five others died later in hospital, the officials said.

Abdul Hakeem Lasi, in-charge of the Edhi Centre in Bela, said around 22 injured passengers were taken to hospital by Edhi workers before being moved to Karachi for treatment, and that seven of the injured were in serious condition. He said most of the casualties were in the minibus.

Edhi officials in Lasbela said the dead included seven men and five women. Dr Awais Wajid, medical superintendent of the district headquarters hospital, said women and children were among the dead and injured, according to local reports.

Investigation launched

Police, rescue teams and district officials reached the scene after the crash, and traffic on the national highway was disrupted while the road was cleared. Police said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the collision.

The crash is the latest in a series of deadly road accidents in Balochistan in recent months, on highways where coaches and minibuses carry passengers over long distances between Karachi, Gwadar and Quetta.