Muzaffarabad, Murree road accidents kill 14

MURREE/ MUZAFFARABAD:

Fourteen people were killed and seven others critically injured in two separate road accidents in the mountainous regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Murree on Sunday.

In Muzaffarabad, seven people, including a father and his two sons, died when a passenger jeep plunged down a steep mountain slope, while another seven were killed and seven injured after a family van fell into a deep ravine and caught fire in Murree.

The Muzaffarabad accident occurred around noon near Sathra Podemar village, when a jeep travelling from Nakka Shakkar Pattiyan village towards Seri Darra, northeast of the city, went out of control on a landslide-affected stretch of road.

The vehicle had covered barely three kilometres before plunging down the mountainside and rolling over several times, ultimately coming to rest as a wreck.

According to police and administration officials, the jeep fell approximately 1,000 to 1,500 feet below the road, killing all seven occupants at the scene.

"Their bodies were scattered across the accident site," Muzaffarabad Additional Deputy Commissioner Zeeshan Nisar said.

He said local residents retrieved the bodies before being joined by personnel from Rescue 1122. Police later handed over the bodies to the deceased's relatives for burial.

In the separate accident in Murree, seven people were killed and seven others critically injured when a passenger van carrying 14 members of the same family plunged into a deep ravine on Baroha Link Road and caught fire.

The family, comprising men, women and children, was returning after attending a wedding ceremony when the accident occurred. The seven injured sustained serious injuries, and rescue teams were transferring them to Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi for treatment.

Their condition was reported to be critical.

The cause of the fire that engulfed the van remained unknown, according to rescue officials.