Death toll from river Jhelum accident rises to 10 as 6 more bodies recovered

RAWALPINDI: Rescue services recovered six more bodies from the river Jhelum near the Garari Bridge in Rawalpindi on Friday after a hi-ace van plunged into the river a day earlier, taking the death toll from the incident to 10.

On Thursday, a van carrying more than 12 passengers was coming from Hajera in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) when it plunged into the river while navigating a turn near Garari Bridge in the Kahuta area of Rawalpindi. Four bodies were recovered in yesterday’s operation, which had to be halted later in the day due to low light conditions.

In the operation, which resumed on Friday, at least six more bodies were recovered, District Emergency Officer 1122 Rawalpindi Sighbatullah said in a statement.

Three passengers remain missing, he added.

Earlier, the Rescue 1122 official had confirmed the recovery of five people.

A day earlier, low-light conditions did not allow divers to search for the missing. Rescue officials had expressed fear that the river’s current may have carried away the missing passengers.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Rawalpindi, Engineer Amir Khattak, had directed all relevant authorities, including health, Rescue 1122, traffic police and tehsil administration to launch a coordinated operation for the rescue of the passengers.

On August 24 last year, a fatal accident at the same Garari bridge claimed 24 lives after a bus plunged into the river, while in another accident over 14 passengers were seriously injured in a bus accident in the area on the Kahuta- Hajera AJK road in October 2024.

The victims’ heirs and other local residents raised questions about the fitness of vehicles and the condition of crash barriers along the road facing the Jhelum River.

Zahid Khan, a commuter who regularly uses this road, said that public vehicles being recklessly driven were a common cause of accidents, while Abdul Wahid Khan said that crash barriers were either missing or fragile at dangerous points, raising the risk of vehicles plunging into the river. Staff Report