MUZAFFARABAD: Tragedy struck a tourist family from Karachi when a road accident claimed the life of one of its young members in the upper belt of Neelum Valley on Thursday, allegedly due to the negligence of the driver of a locally hired jeep, police said.

Moiz Mansoor, 34, a resident of Karachi, along with his spouse Kiran Moiz, 38, and their children—7-year-old Rehan and his twin brother Kehan, 4-year-old Manahil, and one-and-a-half-year-old Muntaha—had arrived in Neelum Valley a few days ago in their own vehicle, driven by their personal driver Sultan Rehman, 36.

They had parked their vehicle in the town of Sharda, where they hired a local Toyota hardtop jeep for their onward journey to Taobutt, Neelum Valley’s last village, located some 200 kilometers from Muzaffarabad.

On Thursday, they were returning to Sharda in the same jeep when they met the accident at Machhal, approximately 162 kilometers from Muzaffarabad, around 11:45am.

“The speeding jeep lost control, fell off the road, and overturned, resulting in the death of Kehan and minor injuries to Mr Moiz, his wife, and their personal driver,” said Khawaja Siddique, Superintendent of Police (SP) in Neelum Valley.

“The driver, Tanveer Kala, whose negligence caused the accident, fled the scene, but we will soon apprehend him and take appropriate action,” he added. He informed that the affected family left Neelum district in the afternoon in their own vehicle, escorting the Rescue 1122 ambulance which was carrying the body of the deceased boy.

The latest accident, which followed a similar, though larger, tragedy involving a public transport vehicle from Neelum Valley, once again highlighted concerns about the safety and condition of public transport in the area, as well as the alleged lack of proficiency of local drivers.

In response to Wednesday’s accident, AJK Premier Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq had convened a meeting to address the issue of road safety.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2024