At least six women were killed and eight others, including the driver, were injured when a jeep carrying voters plunged into a deep ravine in the Chhari locality of the Dudhnial area of the Neelum Valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), on Sunday.
For the first round of the local government elections, which were held after 31 years in three districts of Muzaffarabad Division, the vehicle was carrying Thanda Pani villager women voters.
Around 12.30 pm, the jeep reportedly skidded off the road and plunged into a 300-foot-deep ravine. The police immediately launched a rescue effort and transported the injured and the bodies to the hospital.
Six of the unfortunate jeep’s passengers perished instantly, and six others were said to be in critical condition.
A local news source quoted a disaster management official as saying that the vehicle was carrying more people than it could hold.
The autonomous state’s prime minister, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, expressed sorrow and grief over the incident, calling it “heart-wrenching.” He also revealed in a tweet that he has ordered the administration to work with the injured in any way possible.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the foreign minister, also expressed sorrow over the incident.
According to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) media cell, the party chief shared the grievances of the bereaved families equally and encouraged the local officeholders and party members to do the same.
