Dangerous turns: Five die as car plunges into River Neelum

Two passengers survive crash with critical injuries


Our Correspondent October 15, 2016
Late in September, at least 17 people were killed and three others were injured when their van plunged into the River Neelum while travelling to Muzaffarabad. PHOTO: APP

MUZAFFARABAD: The sorrow of a family was exacerbated on Saturday, when five of its members were killed and two others seriously injured when their car plunged into River Neelum while they were travelling to attend the funeral of a relative.

According to the police, the family was travelling from Ashkot in Neelum Valley to Muzaffarabad to attend the last rites of a relative. They were near Nowseri, some 35 kilometers from Muzaffarabad, when their car skidded off the road and plunged into the River Neelum.

Five men, including three brothers, their father and a paternal uncle died on the spot while two others were injured. Local people rushed to the spot and pulled the bodies and injured out from the wreckage.

The deceased were identified as Muhammad Din, Lal Din, Taj Din, Ghulam Din, and Muhammad Hussain. The injured were identified as Muhammad Sadiq and Muhammad Din Siraj.

The two injured were shifted to the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayad Al-Nahyan Hospital in Muzaffarabad for emergency treatment. Doctors at the hospital described their condition as critical. The bodies of the dead were handed over to their relatives for burial.

Speaker AJK Legislative Assembly Shah Ghulam Qadir asked the Neelum district administration to ensure that the family is paid compensation.

The mountainous roads in Neelum valley are extremely treacherous and accidents have often been witnessed especially near the sharp turns and bends near Nowseri.

Late in September, at least 17 people were killed and three others were injured when their van plunged into the River Neelum while travelling to Muzaffarabad. According to the police, the driver of the van had lost control while negotiating a sharp turn near Naka Nowseri and fell from 200 metres into the river.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2016.

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