MUZAFFARABAD: Two men and as many women were killed and another six passengers were injured after a jeep they were travelling in plunged into a ravine in a hilly area of Azad Kashmir (AJK) on Friday, an official said, attributing the accident to harsh weather.

The jeep that had started its journey from Leepa valley via Sher Galli road met the accident at about 10:20am, said Raja Imran Shaheen, deputy commissioner Jhelum Valley of which Leepa is an administrative unit.

“As the snow and rain had rendered the road slippery, the vehicle went out of driver’s control, veered to the left and fell hundreds of feet down into a ravine near Reshian,” he said.

“As a result, two women and two men died on the spot and six others were injured... The bodies and injured persons were evacuated from the ravine within two hours,” he added.

Mr Shaheen told that all of the victims belonged to Antlian and Moji villages.

He identified the deceased as Ejaz Ahmed (driver), 40, Ms Nazim Jan, 40, Samina Bibi, 50, and Khawaja Farooq, 35.

Two of the injured were referred to Hattian Bala while the rest were treated at a local facility in Reshian, he said.

Leepa valley is located some 100km southeast of Muzaffarabad while Reshian village lies some 25km before it.

From beyond Reshian, the valley is accessed by two narrow roads, known by the names of Birthwar Galli and Sher Galli, and one pedestrian track, known as Panjal Galli, run through an altitude of around 10,000 feet.

However, as winter snowfalls block all three routes,valley people have to wend their way through the snow-capped corridors at the peril of their lives and consequently many lives are lost.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2019