Nine people were killed when two vans fell into ravines in two separate accidents in Naran and Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday.
At least three people of a family were killed and 13 others were injured when a passenger van fell into a roadside gorge near Naran on Wednesday.
Police said that the 18 people in the van, all family members, were coming from Jhelum.
When they reached Andhera Bela, some 10 kilometres from Naran, the van went out of control and plunged into a deep gorge, killing a man and two women on the spot and injuring 13 others, three of whom were children.
The police said that the accident took place due to ongoing construction work on the winding road that leaves only a narrow strip of land accessible to traffic. According to locals, the construction work has been going on for over one month now.
The injured were shifted to Kaghan Civil Hospital, from where they were referred to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital in Mansehra. Four of them were stated to be in critical condition till last reports came in.
Those killed were identified as Naveed Muzaffar, Anjum Masood and Shahnaz Bibi, while the injured include Qaswa Bibi, 6, Umama, 13, Saima Bibi, 12, Zahira Bibi, Aqsa Zamir, Ubaid, Khaqan Zamir, Atique, Nosher, Muhammad Irfan and Liaquat.
Naran Valley, a famous base camp for tourists, is located at a journey of about six hours from Islamabad.
Six killed en route to Chitral
Moreover, six people were killed and seven others were injured when a van en route to Chitral from Dir bus stand fell into a ravine at noon in Mir Kanday on Wednesday.
Dr Muhammad Tilla, a senior physician at District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Dir, said the bodies were brought to the hospital from where the relatives them to their hometowns. Among the dead were Gul Badshah, Rafiullah and Shahabud Din from Dir, Raz Muhammad and Muhammad Adil Khan from Peshawar and a woman named Nasriya from Mardan.
He added that the injured were rushed to DHQ Chitral as that was the nearest hosptial. A woman was taken to DHQ Dir where medics referred her to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar because her condition was critical.
*With additional input from Our correspondent
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2012.
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