MUZAFFARABAD: Six people, including three women, lost their lives and 14 others were injured when a passenger coach plunged into a ditch in Sudhnoti district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.

The ill-fated vehicle with 20 persons on board had left the town of Palandari at 9am for Rawalpindi but met the accident after one hour when it had covered a distance of 31km, said Imdad Hussain, a police official based at Azad Pattan police post.

“While negotiating a curve the vehicle went out of driver’s control and fell into a ditch,” he told Dawn by telephone.

According to him, the accident occurred hardly 500 metres before Azad Pattan Bridge over Jhelum River that connects Poonch division with Rawalpindi district.

“Four persons died on the spot and the rest were injured, of whom two succumbed to their wounds on way to or in the hospital,” said Mohammad Shahzad, another official at Palandari police station.

He identified the deceased as Nyla, 30, wife of Tauseef, Mohammad Hayat, 55, son of Ali Mohammad, Shoaib, 35, son of Mohammad Sharif, Rahima Khanum, 50, wife of Tahir Akbar and her 30-year old daughter Zuha and Roshan Deen, 60.

Of them, Mr Deen belonged to tehsil Zafarwal in Punjab while the rest were residents of Sudhnoti district, he said.

Road accidents are common in AJK and are mostly blamed on mechanically unfit vehicles that ply the dangerous hilly roads with impunity.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2017