Car crash claims lives of eight family members in Kohistan

• Bodies shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Pattan.
• Accident occurred in particularly dangerous section, says DPO.
• He commends the professionalism of the rescue teams.

MANSEHRA: A car crashed down into a ravine on Thursday, killing eight family members, including a man, his wife, and four kids, in the Matta Banda neighbourhood of Lower Kohistan.

The car was travelling from Gilgit Baltistan (GB) to Punjab when the driver lost control of the steering and it plunged down the ravine while navigating a steep turn on the Karakoram Highway, The News reported.

After a frantic hour-long attempt, Rescue 1122 staff, police, and local volunteers reached the accident site and took the dead to the District Headquarters Hospital in Pattan for medico-legal formalities.

“We have shifted all eight bodies to a nearby health facility, from where they will be sent to Rawalpindi,” District Police Officer Lower Kohistan Taimur Khan told reporters.

The DPO said the accident occurred in a particularly dangerous section of the highway adjacent to the Indus River. He commended the professionalism of the rescue teams in retrieving the bodies and transporting them to the hospital.

The victims were identified as Asif Iqbal of Rawalpindi, his wife Memona Iqbal, their four children and two relatives, Aisha Siddique and Bushra Waseem.

“We have already advised drivers and motorists to exercise extreme caution while travelling through the mountainous terrain of Kohistan along the Karakoram Highway,” Khan added.

An official of Rescue 1122, Malik Sharif, said that the fatal accident rate along the Karakoram Highway, particularly in the Upper and Lower Kohistan districts, remained significantly high, largely because drivers from other parts of the country were unfamiliar with the challenging road conditions.