Muzaffarabad road crash: ‘Reckless driving’ kills 14 schoolchildren

Van carrying 17 kids plunges into Jhelum canal; rescuers save three.

MUZAFFARABAD:

A speeding school van carrying 17 children plunged into Jhelum canal in Muzaffarabad on Friday. At least 14 of the young passengers are believed to be dead, while rescue workers were able to save three.

The driver lost control of the vehicle while crossing the bridge above Jhelum canal. The rescue team from Ali Baig locality was able to recover 12 bodies and rescue three children. The bodies of two children are yet to be found.

Commissioner Mirpur division Mehmoodul Hassan told The Express Tribune that the van carrying the children was headed to Mirpur town from Jattlian when it fell into the canal. According to Hassan, the driver was driving recklessly, and fled the scene soon after the accident.

The children were from the Army Public School and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation School in Mirpur.

Friday’s accident is the second such tragedy that has hit Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in two weeks. On May 27, around 35 people were killed when a bus plunged into a river in Neelum Valley. The bodies of those passengers are yet to be recovered.

The roads in AJK, running alongside the rivers in northern districts and canals in the south, are in a dilapidated condition. Deadly accidents are becoming a norm in the country as a result of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2011.