Muzaffarabad: Four children were killed, and three others were injured when a van carrying passengers to a religious school plunged into a deep ravine in the Neelum Valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday morning.
Neelum Valley District Disaster Management Officer Akhtar Ayoub said the vehicle was travelling from Nagdar to Athmuqam via the Keran bypass link road when the accident occurred near Ghorray Nakkah Morr.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 am, less than half a kilometre into the vehicle's journey.
Officials said the van left the road while negotiating a sharp bend and fell more than 500 metres into a rocky ravine.
Three children died at the scene, and another child later died at District Headquarters Hospital in Athmuqam.
The three surviving injured passengers were subsequently transferred to Muzaffarabad for further treatment due to their critical condition.
The officials did not report the precise circumstances that caused the vehicle to leave the road.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq expressed condolences to the bereaved families and urged motorists to exercise caution when travelling on mountainous roads.
The accident follows several similar incidents in Neelum Valley.
In April, three people were killed and ten injured when a passenger van fell into a ditch in the Maidan Nambatai area.
Another accident on May 11 claimed four lives, including two women, when a passenger jeep plunged into a rocky streambed.
The repeated incidents highlighted the dangers of travelling on narrow mountain roads, particularly where sharp bends and steep drops leave little margin for error.
Saturday's accident once again raised questions about the need for safer road infrastructure, effective vehicle inspections and preventive measures on hazardous routes in the valley.
