MANSEHRA: A man and a minor were killed in a road accident in Mansehra, while two girls drowned in the Indus River in Torghar district on Sunday, police and rescue officials said.

“A speeding coach on its way to Abbottabad from Kohistan overturned on the Hazara Expressway in Chinarkot area, killing two passengers and injuring six others,” SHO Battal police station Hamza Khan told reporters.

Rescue 1122 teams rushed to the scene and shifted the injured and the bodies to a nearby health facility. Later, the injured were referred to the Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad. The deceased were identified as Owais Asif, a resident of Abbottabad, and a two-year-old boy.

In another incident in Kotkay Kala area of Torghar district, two girls drowned in the Indus River.

Two girls drown in Indus River in Torghar

Amina Bibi, 20, and Aiman, 15, had gone to wash clothes at the riverbank when strong waves swept them away.

Rescue 1122 personnel and local volunteers launched a search operation, and after hours of effort, found the body of Amina Bibi.

District emergency officer Hayatullah told reporters that the search operation for the second victim was still ongoing.

IGP VISITS POWER PROJECTS: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed on Sunday assured foolproof security to Chinese engineers and workers executing two hydropower projects in Kaghan Valley and Balakot.

“Your services for our country are unmatched and we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring a peaceful environment where you could work in peace of mind,” Mr Hameed told Chinese nationals working on the Suki Kinari and Balakot hydropower projects.

He was accompanied by district police officer Shafiullah Khan Gandapur during the third and final day of his visit to the district.

Mr Hameed also held a meeting with the army and Chinese high-ups over the security measures put in place for both strategically important energy projects. “Sino-Pak friendship is higher than the skies and deeper than the oceans, and we will not allow enemies to sabotage it at any cost through their evil designs,” Mr Hameed added.

He said additional police personnel had been deployed to secure the project sites and ensure the safety of all Chinese nationals.

The IGP also announced plans to strengthen police presence and infrastructure along the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road. “We are going to expand police deployment and infrastructure in Battakundi, Jalkhad, Gattidas, Barawai, and Basal areas to secure the movement of tourists along the MNJ Road from Balakot to Babusar Top and then to neighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan,” he said.

Mr Hameed directed DPO Shafiullah Gandapur to establish coordination and regular information-sharing with the GB police to ensure the safety of tourists travelling between the two regions via Kaghan Valley.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2025