Seven of one family killed as van plunges into Murree ravine and catches fire

MURREE: What began as a family’s happy return from a wedding ended in tragedy on a Murree road on Sunday. A Suzuki Bolan carrying 14 members of one family plunged into a deep ravine near Baroha Chowk on Rakhala Road and burst into flames. Seven people died at the scene. Seven others were injured.

The dead were two women and their five daughters, according to Dawn. They have been identified as Almas, wife of Tanveer, and her three daughters, and Shahina, wife of Mumtaz, and her two daughters. The family belonged to a village in Murree itself. Rescue officials said the fire took hold so fast after the fall that several of those inside never had a chance to get out — all seven deaths were caused by burns.

An 18-month-old among the injured

The injured were rushed to Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, where they are under treatment. They are Arshad, 40, Nighat, 35, Laiba, 17, Tayyab Mehmood, 10, Raima Noor, 7, Kashan, 4, and Aima Noor, who is just 18 months old. On the deputy commissioner of Murree’s orders, staff at nearby hospitals were also put on high alert.

Rescue 1122 teams and traffic police reached the spot soon after the alarm was raised. Murree’s DSP traffic and other personnel joined the relief effort, while the assistant commissioner of Murree supervised the operation on the ground. Police say the cause of the crash is not yet known — how the van went out of control is still under investigation.

Chief minister offers condolences

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the deaths, condoled with the bereaved families and prayed for the injured to recover soon. She directed officials to ensure the injured receive the best possible medical care, and put the deputy commissioner of Murree in charge of monitoring the rescue and relief operation.

It was not the only mountain-road tragedy that day. Near Muzaffarabad, a jeep veered off a landslide-affected stretch and fell 1,000 to 1,500 feet down a mountainside, killing all seven people on board, including a father and his two sons. Two places, one day, fourteen lives — and the same unanswered question that follows every such crash on these roads: did it really have to happen?