Rescue Team 1122 recovers two more bodies on Friday; Two passengers remain missing and the search will resume Saturday morning.
A passenger van fell into the Jhelum river near Garari bridge in Kahuta tehsil of Rawalpindi on December 11. Photo: Express
The death toll from a passenger van that plunged into the Jhelum river near Garari Bridge on Azad Pattan Road in Kahuta area of Rawalpindi rose to six after two more bodies were recovered on Friday.
Rescuers continued the search until dusk on the second day after the incident before suspending operations due to darkness. The search is expected to resume Saturday morning. According to Rescue 1122 district emergency officer Sabghatullah, recovery efforts resumed early Friday following the overnight suspension.
He said the body of the fourth victim, identified as Shaukat Ali, 25, had been pulled from the river on Thursday night. With the operation underway again on Friday, rescuers recovered two more bodies, identified as Umar Zaman, 32, and Muhammad Sadiq, 58.
Rescue officials reported that the van’s driver, Basit, suffered serious injuries, along with three other passengers: Sajjad Shah, 29, Zafar Iqbal, 52, and Liaquat, 46. The bodies of Fatima (aged between 60 and 70 years), her son, Professor Naeem, passenger Adil and Shaukat were recovered on Thursday.
Read more: Three dead when a passenger van falls into the Jhelum river
Police also received unverified reports that the driver, Idris, may have survived and fled the scene, with possible sightings in Kashmir.
Six deaths have been confirmed so far, including a woman, while four passengers were rescued with injuries. Two people, Naseem, 35, and Liaquat, 15, remain missing.
Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against the driver of the van, Muhammad Idris, on charges of negligence and rash driving. The FIR was lodged under sections 322, 379 and 337G of the Pakistan Penal Code.
According to ASI Waqas Aslam, who was on duty at the time of the accident, the van was speeding when the driver lost control, causing it to fall into the river. Search and rescue teams are stepping up efforts to locate the remaining missing passengers, while police continue their investigation and plan further action once they find the driver.
