ISLAMABAD: 15 people were killed and 10 others critically injured when a passenger van fell into a ravine in Kashmir on Wednesday, police said.
The van carrying 25 people fell into a deep ravine when the driver tried to negotiate a sharp turn in the mountainous terrain of Kotli district in the region, Rizwan Younus, a policeman in the district who was dispatched to the accident site, said.
He said the accident happened at about 10:00 am and the van was completely destroyed in the incident.
Rescue work is underway and the bodies and the injured are being recovered by volunteers and rescue officials.
“The condition of all of the recovered injured people is very serious and doctors at a nearby hospital are trying hard to save them,” he added.
The van was on its way to Rawalpindi city in east Punjab province from a town in Kotli district when the accident happened, Younus said.
“The fan fell deep into the ravine, far away from the road after sliding off from the mountain, and it is taking rescue teams a lot of hardship to recover the injured and the bodies,” he added.
