Six members of a family were killed and one person wounded when their car plunged into a ravine over 1,000 feet deep in a suburban area in Muzaffarabad on Thursday, police said.
The victims, including an infant, were going to their bahak (high altitude grassland), beyond the famous tourist resort of Pirchinasi, when they met the tragic accident at about 10:40am, City Police Station House Officer (SHO) Rashid Habib Masoodi told Dawn.
“The vehicle was completely smashed, leaving six out of seven people on board dead on the spot,” Masoodi added.
He identified the deceased as Muhammad Altaf, his spouse Arshan Bibi and 18-month old daughter Alina, Sajeela Bibi, Urfat Bibi and Ghulam Muhammad. Altaf was behind the wheel of his car.
SHO Masoodi said that Raza Munir, 9, was recovered alive with critical wounds and shifted to Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahayan Hospital Muzaffarabad.
Pirchinasi, some 34 kilometres east of Muzaffarabad, lies at an altitude of 9,300 feet. Hundreds of people flock to the area particularly on weekends.
The SHO said that the ill-fated family resided in the same area.
They had started their journey from Niazpura, located some 8km before Pirchinasi at an altitude of 5,500 feet along the same road, he said.
