MUZAFFARABAD: As many as eight people were killed and three others critically injured when a passenger coach plunged into a ravine in the jurisdiction of Sudhnoti district on Monday.

The Rawalakot-bound coach (LHC-1678), which had started its journey from Rawalpindi, met the accident at a place known as Muzaffarabad Cross, located some four kilometres ahead of Azad Pattan Bridge.

The bridge over Jhelum River connects Poonch division with Rawalpindi district.

“While passing through a landslide-prone portion of the road the vehicle went out of the driver’s control and fell over a 1,000 feet down into a ravine,” police official Wahid Hussain told Dawn from the area.

As a result, six people died on the spot and five others were wounded. Two later succumbed to their wounds on way to the hospital.

The deceased included the driver and his helper, a couple and two sisters.

The official identified them as Attiqur Rehman his wife Yasmin, Rizwan Hafeez, Sajid Khan, Mohammad Nisar (driver), Sajida and her sibling Majida and Danish (helper).

The injured were Sajid Khan’s father Mohammad Latif, Rizwan’s father Haji Mohammad Hafeez and Attiqur Rehman’s son Mohammad Haseeb.

In May, six people were killed and 14 others wounded when a coach plunged into a ravine in the same area.

Meanwhile, expressing sorrow over the loss of lives, AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has called for extra alertness by people behind the wheels, particularly in the ongoing rainy season.

“The drivers in particular should avoid speeding and recklessness in the interest of the precious human lives on board their vehicles,” he said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2017