A bus carrying pilgrims crashed into a deep ditch in southwest Pakistan, killing 17 people and injuring 16 others, officials said Thursday.

They were travelling to a revered religious site in Baluchistan late Wednesday, the first day of Eid Al-Fitr celebrations and a public holiday in Pakistan, said a spokesperson for the provincial government, Shahid Rind.

The driver lost control of the bus in Las Bela district, just 25 kilometers from the shrine the pilgrims were heading to.

Those in a serious condition, some 15 people, were shifted to a hospital in neighboring Sindh province. There were 33 people on the bus, including the driver.

Baluchistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti expressed his regret over the crash.