HARIPUR: Five picnickers, including two brothers, were burnt to death when their car caught fire after falling off the Hazara Motorway during the early hours of Sunday here, the police said.

Ghazi police station officials said that all the persons on board the car, including the man on the driving seat, died instantly before the rescue operation could be launched. The bodies were charred beyond recognition, they added.

The deceased were travelling to Naran from Peshawar to celebrate the Independence Day when they met the fatal accident, the police and family sources said.

The Ghazi police said that at around 1am on Sunday they received a phone call about a road accident near Khoi Darra village in Kala Katha area of Ghazi tehsil.

They said that the car plunged into a gorge after one of its front tyres burst and the vehicle caught fire.

Rescue workers and police recovered the charred bodies of five persons from the vehicle and shifted them to the Haripur Trauma Centre.

The police and doctors said that the deceased were identified as Wajid Salim, the driver, his brother Shoaib, Fida Mohammad, Iftikhar alias Babu and Rehmatullah, all residents of Bannu district, and presently settled in Peshawar.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2023