Seven killed as jeep plunges into 1,000-foot ravine in AJK

MUZAFFARABAD: At least seven people were killed when a jeep plunged into a nearly 1,000-foot-deep ravine on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), rescue officials said.

The accident occurred at Podimar on the Shakar Patiyan-Sairi Dara Road when the vehicle was travelling from Shakar Patiyan towards Sairi Dara, according to the City Police Muzaffarabad.

All seven people aboard the jeep died in the crash. Rescue teams reached the site with a medical rescue vehicle and retrieved all the bodies from the ravine despite difficulties posed by its depth.

The cause of the accident has not yet been established, rescue officials said.

The deceased were identified as jeep driver Abdul Waheed and passengers Muhammad Khalid, Shafaat Hussain, Fayyaz Ahmed, Saad Riaz, Azam Riaz and Iftikhar Ahmed.

The accident also claimed the lives of a father and his two adult sons from the same family, leaving their relatives in mourning.

The tragedy comes a day after four children were killed and four other people injured when a jeep carrying schoolchildren plunged into the Neelum River in AJK’s Neelum Valley.

The vehicle was travelling from Nagdar towards Athmuqam when it fell into the river near Nagdar Ghoray Naka, according to rescue officials.

All the children involved in that accident belonged to the same family. The four deceased were identified as Hasnain, 12, Zareed, Tifo, 10, and Aleen.

The injured included two women and two children, who were taken to hospital for medical treatment.

The two accidents have renewed concerns over road safety in the mountainous region, where steep terrain and deep ravines pose serious risks to motorists. Authorities have yet to establish the causes of either crash.