At least eight people, including three women and several children, died when a passenger vehicle immersed himself in a ravine in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa district of low Kohistan on Monday.
The incident occurred along the Karakoram road near the area of Mita Banda, known for its betrayal and narrow roads. According to rescue officials, the vehicle was on Rawalpindi route to Gilgit when, according to the reports, the driver lost control, which caused him to fall into a deep throat.
The rescue teams arrived at the scene shortly after the accident and launched a recovery operation. The authorities confirmed that the deceased included women and children. Local residents also helped efforts to recover the victims.
The victims have been identified as Asif Iqbal de Rawalpindi, his wife Memona Iqbal, his four children and two relatives, Aisha Siddique and Bushra Waseem.
The district police officer (DPO) Taimur Khan confirmed the deaths and pointed out that the accident took place in a particularly dangerous section of the road adjacent to the Indo River. “The eight bodies have been transferred to a nearby health center, from where they will be sent to Rawalpindi,” he told reporters.
Dpo Khan urged drivers to exercise extreme caution when traveling through the Kohistan region, citing the challenging geography and the conditions of the sinuous road that often contribute to such tragedies.
