In a joint operation, police and Rangers have rescued 11 out of the 19 bus passengers abducted by bandits on Monday night in Ghotki district, officials said on Tuesday.

Sources said armed bandits stormed the passenger bus travelling from Sadiqabad to Quetta and abducted 19 male passengers, adding that 25 passengers were on board the bus at the time of the attack.

The attackers later managed to escape into nearby sugarcane fields, taking advantage of the dense fog.

Police and Rangers later launched the operation, the sources said, adding that efforts were ongoing to track the bandits and recover the remaining abducted passengers.

Authorities said security forces remained deployed in the area as the search operation continued.

The sources said that the bus was travelling from Sadiqabad to Quetta and was stopped by the bandits when it reached the Guddu-Kashmore Link Road in Sindh’s Ghotki district.

According to officials, the assailants intercepted the bus near Ubauro and forcibly took 19 passengers with them.

According to police, one passenger suffered a heart attack and died during the incident. The deceased was identified as Kareem Bakhsh Baloch.

His body was recovered from a sugarcane field and shifted to Ubauro hospital for legal formalities.

Police said that some passengers managed to escape by hiding in nearby sugarcane fields.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sukkur Faisal Abdullah Chachar said that all routes leading towards the riverine (katcha) area have been sealed and law enforcement personnel deployed to prevent the bandits from shifting the abductees into the difficult terrain.

He said that rescued passenegers have been shifted to a secure location after the successful operation by the police and Rangers.

The DIG added that search operation was ongoing and additional force from Sukkur Range have joined the rescue efforts.