GILGIT: Five persons were killed and 12 others injured when a passenger van plunged into ravine near Roundu valley of Skardu on Monday.

According to police, a van carrying 19 passengers was going from Lashithang village to Dambodas of Roundu subdivision of Skardu early on Monday.

They said the vehicle plunged into a ravine while negotiating a turn, killing five persons on the spot. They were named Abbas, Sher Abbas, Nisar, Nazim and one woman whose name couldn’t be ascertained. The victims were residents of Lashithang village.

Five of the 12 persons injured in the mishap were identified as Fida Hussein, Ali Jan, Hussain, Batool, and Khati. Among the injured seven were women.

The local people rescued the injured from the gorge and shifted them to a hospital in Dambodas area, wherefrom seven of the injured were shifted to the district headquarters hospital, Skardu, where condition of two of them was said to be critical.

A policeman said the cause of the incident was bad condition of the road.

Following the accident, a large number of residents blocked the Gilgit-Skardu road at Dambodas to protest bad condition of the road and non-availability of medical facilities in the area.

The protesters chanted slogans against the district administration. They said it was the fourth fatal accident on the road.

They deplored that no ambulance was available in the area to take the injured to hospitals. They said government health facilities were facing shortage of equipment and doctors.

The protesters dispersed after GB minster Fida Khan assured them of meeting their demands. Due to the protest vehicular traffic between Baltistan and other areas remained suspended for five hours.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2018