Eleven people died when a passenger van veered off a mountain road and plunged into the Yasin River in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Ghizer district on Thursday night, police said.
The vehicle was traveling from Gilgit to the Yasin Valley when the driver lost control near Morkah Bridge during rain, sending the van crashing into the water.
Rescue teams initially recovered ten bodies, including two women, and pulled out three injured passengers, according to police. Those initial survivors, which included a child, were taken to Gupis Civil Hospital. Injured passengers were taken to a hospital in Gahkuch, while other injured individuals received medical attention.
Local police official Mohammad Afzal said rescue teams continued search operations into early Friday. Police later updated the casualty total to 11 dead, including an infant, with two others injured. A specialized water rescue team was called from Gilgit to assist as darkness slowed down the search in the river, rescue officials reported.
The passengers and those killed were residents of the Yasin Valley. Chitral Today identified several victims, including Adil, a driver from Hondur; Jamshed Alam, an Excise Department employee; and Mirza, a serving army personnel.
“Police said an investigation was under way to identify the cause of the incident,” Police said.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain issued a statement directing the district administration, health officials, and rescue agencies to ensure the injured receive top medical care without any operational negligence. Hussain described the tragedy as “deeply distressing,” according to Dawn.
The fatal plunge into the waterway follows several other major transportation accidents across the region in recent years. Last week, a passenger bus traveling from Hunza to Rawalpindi collided with a trailer near the Havelian Interchange on the Hazara Motorway, leaving eight people dead and 30 others injured. The National Highways and Motorway Police announced that an investigation had been initiated to establish what triggered that collision.
Additional highway tragedies in the mountainous areas include a May 2024 accident in the Diamer district, where a passenger bus traveling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit-Baltistan veered off a narrow mountain road and crashed into a ravine, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 people and leaving 21 others injured. In 2018, another passenger van plunged into a ravine near Hoper Valley, claiming the lives of seven men.
In response to recurring deadly crashes, the National Highways and Motorway Police announced strict new enforcement protocols designed to safeguard passengers. Officials said that public transport operators face mandatory checks for proper route permits, valid driving licenses, fitness certificates, and overloading violations.
Authorities launched a targeted enforcement campaign focusing on public service vehicles, prohibiting passengers from riding on bus rooftops and barring vehicles equipped with defective tyres from continuing their journeys.