MUZAFFARABAD, April 22: A jeep carrying passengers plunged into the River Jhelum near here on Thursday morning, leaving eight people dead and three injured, police said.

The ill fated vehicle (AJKC-7756) was returning to Muzaffarabad from Garhi Dopatta when the accident occured at 9am near Subri village, some 10 kilometres south of here on the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road, a police official told Dawn.

He quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the vehicle developed some technical fault, and suddenly plunged into the river which flows along the side of the road. A large number of people from the surrounding areas as well as police officials rushed to the rescue and recovered two women, identified as Ms Shamim, daughter of Habibullah, and Ms Amna, wife of Bashir, and a handicapped man Abdul Hamid with multiple injuries.

The other passengers could not be found as the jeep was swept away by the currents of the river. Their names were Sajjad, Ali Akbar, Safir Ahmed, Bashir, Shafique, Kaleem, Safir, and 3-year old boy Nauman.