MUZAFFARABAD: Nine Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred and another four wounded as their truck plunged into a ravine in Bagh district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Sunday, officials said.

“A Pakistan Army vehicle met an accident and fell into a nullah in Shujaabad, Bagh, early Sunday morning while on a routine military duty,” said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media affairs wing of the army, in a brief statement.

“As a result, nine soldiers embraced Shahadat while four were injured,” it added.

According to residents of the area, who took part in the rescue operation after the truck fell some 500 feet down into the ravine while negotiating a curve, seven soldiers lost their lives on the spot while two embraced martyrdom in the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Rawalakot.

The ISPR said the injured soldiers had been evacuated to the CMH, Rawalpindi. It said the funeral prayers of the martyrs were offered at Mangla garrison, with Raw­alpindi Corps Commander Lt-Gen Sahir Shamshad Mir­za and other military off­i­cials among the mourners.

“The bodies will be sent to their native towns and buried with full military honours,” the ISPR said.

Meanwhile, taking to Twitter, AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas expressed profound grief over the tragic accident.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2022