MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AFP) - At least 10 people were killed on Monday when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in Pakistan's Kashmir region, close to the disputed border with India.

The bus travelling from the garrison city of Rawalpindi to the frontier town of Forward Kahuta, fell down the 150m slope early in the morning.

Senior local police official Riaz Abbasi said that around 20 people were on board. He said 10 had been killed and four were injured.

A senior government official also confirmed the incident.

"The accident occurred around 5am. We have moved the injured to hospitals and handed over dead bodies to the relatives," local administration official Sardar Shahbaz Ali said.

The officials said the cause of accident was not immediately known.

Pakistan has a poor record for fatal traffic accidents, with poorly maintained roads and vehicles and reckless driving often the cause.

The narrow, twisting roads in mountainous Kashmir are particularly hazardous.