BUNER: Eight passengers, among them five members of a family, were killed and two others suffered injuries when a vehicle plunged into a ravine in the Chaghorzai area on Sunday.

The driver, identified as Khapeery, was out of the Swari-bound vehicle when a child hit the gear accidently, putting it into neutral. The vehicle started moving on the steep road and fell into the ravine.

The accident took place in the mountainous Jaboo Bangeray area of Pandhir union council in Chaghorzai tehsil. Locals retrieved the bodies and the injured from the ravine on a self-help basis.

Seven of the deceased were identified as Tajbareen, his mother Nazar Gee, sister-in-law Bakht Sewa, niece Bakhti Noosh, nephew Farman, Akhtar Zeb and Shahzar Khan. The eighth was the mother of one Zaitullah.

The injured were identified as Hafizur Rehman and Khan Bahadur, a child.

Witnesses said the driver was out of the vehicle, calling for more passengers when the vehicle started moving freely.

The bodies and the injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital from where the bodies were sent to the villages concerned.

Doctors said the injured were in stable condition.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2017