Two tourists were killed and three others, including the tour operator, were missing after a loader jeep carrying tourists plunged into a raging water channel in the Neelum Valley in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
Eight tourists were rescued, some with injuries, according to Neelum Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nadeem Ahmed Janjua.
A local witness told Dawn.com that the accident occurred around 1:30pm, when the vehicle en route to Ratti Gali, a renowned alpine glacial lake at 3,683 metres, had only covered three kilometres from the main Neelum Valley road.
The total length of the link road to the base of Ratti Gali Lake is 18km.
The witness told Dawn.com that while negotiating a curve at a location known as Jabba, the vehicle encountered trouble due to a driveshaft failure, which stopped its propulsion.
As the vehicle stalled, the driver jumped out, the witness said, adding that the jeep rolled backwards and plunged into the water channel, tipped over onto its left side.
Residents recovered one body from beneath the overturned vehicle, while the other was found downstream near the Kalas village.
DC Janjua identified the deceased as Ahsan Sheikh from Rawalpindi and Muhammad Bachal Attar from Naushahro Feroze in Sindh.
The eight rescued tourists were identified as Abu Musa’b Siddiqui and his wife Sidra Siddiqui from Karachi; Usman Mughal, Abdul Rehman Butt and Subhan Qureshi from Wazirabad; Mehwal Attar and Saddam Hussain from Naushahro Feroze and Abdullah Mumtaz Qureshi from Rawalpindi.
Some of the injured were hospitalised but were out of danger, he said.
Janjua identified the missing people as Imran Sheikh from Wazirabad, Asrar Ahmed Abbasi from Naushahro Feroze and tour operator Dildar from Muzaffarabad.
“So far, the rescuers have been unable to locate them,” he said.
Lately, Neelum Valley has witnessed several serious road accidents, often due to poor vehicle conditions or driver negligence.
Janjua, who was transferred to the Neelum district early this week, said he had initiated a crackdown on outdated and modified vehicles immediately after assuming office.
“We removed extended footboards, side railings and rods from all vehicles to prevent overcrowding,” he said.
“We have also impounded or sent several off-road unfit and modified vehicles.”
Janjua highlighted that tour operators who misled tourists with exaggerated claims were also being identified, and cases had already been filed against two of them.
“Despite repeated warnings and informative messages, most tourists, even well-qualified ones, do not verify the tour operators’ claims with the administration, tourism department, or tourism police, which are accessible around the clock,” he said.
The jeep involved in the accident was not a passenger jeep but a loader jeep used for carrying sand and gravel, hired by the tour operator after the crackdown on unfit and modified vehicles, he said.
“It’s surprising why the tourists boarded this jeep. They should have raised objections and refused to sit in it. They could have lodged a complaint with the concerned authorities,” he said.
DC Janjua also noted other challenges the administration had been facing during the peak tourist season.
“The length of Neelum Valley, from Nauseri to Taobutt, is around 165km. There are 40 link roads in between, but we have only 22 traffic police personnel to cover this vast area,” he said.
He urged the government to improve the condition of link roads, revamp the motor vehicle examination regime, and augment traffic and tourism police to prevent such incidents and facilitate tourists.
“I also urge tourists to properly plan their visits and verify information from the concerned authorities beforehand to avoid any problems,” he said.
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