A tourist family from Rawalpindi was struck by a dreadful tragedy Friday in the Neelum Valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir after three young members were swept away by a gushing stream, police and eyewitnesses said.

The five member family, comprising Khalid Hussain, his wife Nagina, and three children — Talha, 20, Samia, 17, Sadia, 12 — was picnicking along the Jagran Nullah shortly after reaching the picturesque valley, unmindful of the danger icy water channels in high altitude areas pose.

According to witnesses and police sources, when the family members stepped inside the stream to take selfies, the youngest member, Sadia, fell into the rushing water and was swept away.

In a desperate attempt to rescue their sibling, Samia and Talha jumped in after her one by one, but they too could not withstand the force of the rapidly moving water.

In desperation, the hapless parents also leapt into the water to save their children, but the current carried them off as well.

However, at this point, local residents who had rushed to the scene jumped in the nullah and retrieved the couple.

Samia, the elder daughter, was also recovered alive from some distance, but could not survive her ordeal.

The two other children had not been retrieved till the filing of this report. They are believed to have drowned.

“The search for their bodies has been shelved after darkness spread, but it will be resumed tomorrow,” a police official told Dawn.

The couple, which originally belonged to Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, left for Rawalpindi in the afternoon for the burial of their elder daughter, the official said.

Several similar incidents have been reported in Neelum Valley in the past, with people being swept away while taking selfies along its many rivers and streams.

A Neelum Valley police official said that the administration has installed warning signboards at many spots to prevent such incidents, but a majority of tourists do not pay heed and put their lives at risk.