RAWALPINDI: At least 10 people were killed and 13 others injured when a fire broke out in a van after it fell into a nullah while negotiating a turn on the Islamabad-Murree Expressway near Khajut on Wednesday, the motorway police said.

“The victims are from the same family and were travelling from Multan to Murree,” the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) said in a statement.

A list of victims issued by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad also confirmed the death toll.

The NHMP statement said the family was travelling to Murree in two Hiace wagons and two cars.

It added that one of the wagons was involved in a road accident near Khajut, some 40 kilometres from Islamabad.

According to a preliminary police investigation, the ill-fated passenger wagon, carrying 23 people, veered off the road after the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a sharp turn. The vehicle was engulfed in flames after colliding with a roadside wall. The roadside wall prevented the passengers from disembarking the van, resulting in at least 10 deaths, including those of five children, and injuries to 13 others.

“The Hiace van fell in such a manner that it was not possible for the passengers to open its door,” the NHMP statement added.

The bodies and the injured were shifted to Pims. Two of the 11 injured brought to the hospital were in critical condition, Pims spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil told Dawn. “We have been making arrangements to hand over the bodies of the deceased to their legal heirs after completion of the required procedures,” she added.

Murree Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Abbas Shirazi said a heavy contingent of police personnel and local administration officials reached the scene immediately after receiving information about the accident, according to state-run APP. Rescue and relief operations were launched without delay.

Authorities have initiated an investigation to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of precious human lives in the accident. She sought a report on the incident.

Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2026