7 killed as jeep plunges down a mountain slope on outskirts of Muzaffarabad

Seven individuals, comprising a father and his two sons, were tragically killed when their jeep careened down a mountain slope on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad on Sunday, officials reported. The vehicle had embarked from Nakka Shakkar Pattiyan village en route to Seri Darra village, situated northeast of Muzaffarabad, before covering approximately three kilometers.

The incident unfolded around noon near Sathra Podemar village, as per police and administration sources. The driver, 40-year-old Abdul Waheed, faltered while navigating a landslide-affected section, causing the jeep to spiral down the mountain slope and overturn multiple times before coming to a halt in ruins. The jeep plummeted an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 feet from the road's edge.

All seven passengers succumbed to their injuries at the scene, with their bodies scattered across the accident site, according to Muzaffarabad Additional Deputy Commissioner Zeeshan Nisar. Residents exhumed the remains, later joined by personnel from Rescue 1122. The deceased have been identified as Abdul Waheed, 30-year-old Muhammad Khalid, 35-year-old Shafaat, 50-year-old Fayyaz Ahmed, and their children - 27-year-old Ubaid Fayyaz, 17-year-old Azam Fayyaz, and 18-year-old Iftikhar Hussain.

Police conveyed that the victims' remains were turned over to their families for burial. Mountainous regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir frequently witness road accidents due to deteriorated roads, reckless driving, and poorly maintained vehicles, often exacerbated by the lackadaisical enforcement of transport safety regulations. In a separate incident on Saturday, four children perished and four others were injured when their vehicle plunged into a ravine approximately 500 meters deep in Neelum Valley.

Earlier in May, four individuals, including two women, lost their lives and two sustained injuries after a passenger jeep plummeted hundreds of feet into a rocky streambed in the same vicinity.