Rescue services recovered two more bodies from the river Jhelum near the Garari Bridge in Rawalpindi on Friday after a hi-ace van plunged into the river a day earlier, taking the death toll from the incident to 6.

District Emergency Officer 1122 Rawalpindi Sighbatullah, however, expressed fear that the death toll may rise to nine as three occupants of the ill-fated vehicle are still missing after two days of search efforts.

On Thursday, a van carrying around 12 passengers was coming from Hajera in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) when it plunged into the river while navigating a turn near Garari Bridge in the Kahuta area of Rawalpindi. Four bodies were recovered in yesterday’s operation, which had to be halted later in the day due to low light conditions.

A day earlier, low-light conditions did not allow divers to search for the missing. Rescue officials had expressed fear that the river’s current may have carried away the missing passengers.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Rawalpindi, Engineer Amir Khattak, had directed all relevant authorities, including health, Rescue 1122, traffic police and tehsil administration to launch a coordinated operation for the rescue of the passengers.

On August 24 last year, a fatal accident at the same Garari bridge claimed 24 lives after a bus plunged into the river, while in another accident over 14 passengers were seriously injured in a bus accident in the area on the Kahuta- Hajera AJK road in October 2024.

Vehicle fitness regime being enforced: RTA official

The victims’ heirs and other local residents raised questions about the fitness of vehicles and the condition of crash barriers along the road facing the Jhelum River.

Zahid Khan, a commuter who regularly uses this road, said that public vehicles being recklessly driven were a common cause of accidents, while Abdul Wahid Khan said that crash barriers were either missing or fragile at dangerous points, raising the risk of vehicles plunging into the river.

Rawalpindi Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Secretary Syed Abbas Shirazi told Dawn that, as per records, the fitness certificate of the vehicle was valid up to February 4, 2026, and that the route permit was valid until April 28, 2026.

“The RTA is conducting enforcement operations on a daily basis against unfit vehicles and vehicles plying without valid fitness certificates,” he added.

“During the last two months, 151 vehicles were challaned, 124 vehicles were impounded, and fines amounting to Rs753,000 were imposed,” the secretary claimed. “Such enforcement drives are being continued regularly to ensure compliance with the route fitness regime and improve road safety.”

The RTA secretary added, “Yes, it has been reported that the driver fell asleep.”

Asif Raza, the Executive Engineer at the Punjab Highways Department (Rawalpindi–Kahuta), emphasised to Dawn that crash barriers were present along the road.

When asked about allegations of fragile and substandard barriers, the official said that these were checked during the last two fatal accidents.
Raza assured that he would re-examine the condition of the barriers and take action accordingly.

The victims’ heirs and locals urged the Punjab chief minister to take serious notice of the frequent accidents and implement foolproof measures to curb the loss of life.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that six bodies had been recovered today, based on information provided by the rescue service. The number has since been revised by the rescue service and the story has been updated to reflect the same.