At least seven die, many injured as overspeeding passenger van falls into gorge in DG Khan

At least seven people, including a father and his son, died and several others were injured on early Monday when an overspeeding passenger van lost control and fell into a deep gorge near Rakhi Gaj area of Dera Ghazi Khan.

According to Express, the passenger van was en-route from Fort Monroe to DG Khan and was travelling on a frail road when the accident occurred.

Victims of the accident have been identified as Riaz Ayub, Mohammad Waqas Islam, Wazir Sher Dil, Imtiaz Ahmed Bakhsh, Qismat Khan Farooq and his son Mohammad Arba Qismat. One person could not be identified till the filing of this report.

Bodies were recovered by rescue efforts of local residents and border police.

The driver of the vehicle, Mehraban ul-Abdur Rehman and the injured were pulled out of the deep ravine by nightfall.

On December 15, it was reported that eight women and a child were killed and 13 others sustained critical injuries when an overcrowded jeep plunged into a deep ravine in Ayubia, Abbottabad.

“At least 22 people, all belonging to Bandi Maira village, were returning from a neighbouring village after attending a funeral ceremony in Galiyat when the overcrowded jeep skidded off the road at a sharp turn and fell into a gorge,” DSP Circle Galiyat Jameelur Rehman Qureshi told The Express Tribune.

As a result, he added, seven women and a child died on the spot and 14 others sustained serious injuries.

According to the police official, he with his team reached the spot soon after the accident and started the rescue operation. “The police shifted the injured and bodies to the DHQ Hospital Abbottabad after retrieving them from the ravine.”

Later, the critically injured people were referred to the Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH) Abbottabad where an injured woman succumbed to the wounds.

Police have registered a case against the driver and started raiding for his apprehension as he fled the scene.