Van Plunges into River Yasin in Ghizer, 11 KilledPakistan

Rescue teams searching the river have so far recovered 11 bodies, officials said. Several injured passengers were given first aid and shifted to hospital in Gahkuch, the district headquarters of Ghizer.

Rescue officials said teams remained at the site and the search of the river was continuing for anyone still missing. They said darkness at night was making the rescue operation extremely difficult and hampering the work of the teams.

Earlier reports had put the death toll at 10, with three women among those killed and two passengers injured, according to Express News. Rescue officials later confirmed that 11 bodies had been recovered from the river as the search continued, and the toll could change as teams comb the river.

Officials have not yet said what caused the driver to lose control of the van. The cause of the accident is expected to become clearer once the rescue operation is complete and the vehicle is recovered from the river.

The accident has left the affected families in mourning, and officials said further details, including the final number of injured passengers, were still awaited as the rescue operation continued.

The road between Gilgit and the Yasin Valley runs through steep mountain terrain alongside the river, and the van was on its way to Hindur, a village in the valley, when the accident happened. The route is used daily by passengers travelling between Gilgit and the valley’s villages.

Rescue work in the area is made harder by the terrain and the cold, fast-flowing river water. Officials said teams would keep searching until they were sure no one else remained in the river, and the bodies recovered so far were being handed over to the families.

Road accidents are a recurring tragedy in the mountainous districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, where narrow roads run alongside deep river gorges. Rescue officials said more information would emerge as the search operation progressed.