Four children killed as van plunges into ravine in Neelum Valley

Four children were killed and three other people were injured when a van carrying them to a madrasah plunged into a ravine in the upper reaches of Neelum Valley on Saturday morning, officials said.

Neelum Valley District Disaster Management Officer Akhtar Ayoub said the van was travelling from Nagdar, about 22 kilometres from the district headquarters of Athmuqam, via the Keran bypass link road when it plunged into the ravine.

“The accident occurred around 8:30am near Ghorray Nakkah Morr in Nagdar, barely half a kilometre into the journey, as the driver negotiated a sharp bend,” Ayoub said. The van plunged more than 500 metres off the road into a rocky ravine, killing three children on the spot and injuring four other occupants. One of the injured children later died at the District Headquarters Hospital in Athmuqam.

The injured were later shifted to Muzaffarabad for treatment due to their critical condition, Ayoub said. Local media reported that three brothers were among the dead and that all the children involved belonged to the same family.

Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq expressed grief over the loss of young lives. “Deeply saddened by the loss of precious young lives in the tragic accident in Neelum Valley today,” he wrote on X. “Mountain roads demand utmost caution; even a momentary lapse can have tragic consequences. Please drive carefully,” he added.

Sources

• Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/2039471
• Dunya News: https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/979377-four-children-die-after-schoolbound-vehicle-falls-into-river-in-ajk
• UrduPoint: https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/four-children-killed-vehicle-falls-neelum-river-2275698.html
• MM News: https://mmnews.tv/tragic-accident-in-neelum-valley-four-schoolchildren-killed-five-injured/