RAWALPINDI/MUZAFFARABAD: Nine soldiers of Pakistan Army lost their lives and another four suffered injuries after their vehicle plunged into a ravine in Bagh district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in the wee hours of Sunday, according to a press release from the military’s media wing.
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the incident took place in Shujaabad area of Bagh district while the soldiers were on routine military duty. It added that the injured were moved to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi while funeral prayers for the martyrs were offered at Mangla garrison.
The press release said Rawalpindi Corps Commander Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and other military officials attended the funeral prayers.
The ISPR said the bodies will be sent back to their hometowns and buried with “full military honour”.
The truck — part of a military convoy — was heading towards Mang Bajri in the Bagh district of Kashmir when the incident occurred near Shujaabad, some 12km before its destination, at about 4am on Sunday, the ISPR said.
Following the incident, locals rushed to the scene with mobile phones and lanterns to carry out rescue work in a very difficult situation. Other personnel of the convoy and police from the post also rushed to the site to carry out operation.
According to rescuers, there were seven dead bodies and six injured soldiers, of whom only two were able to speak. They informed that the police post official informed police control rooms in Bagh and Rawalakot to dispatch ambulances to the accident site.
Within less than an hour, all six injured soldiers were taken to the Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan Hospital, also known as CMH Rawalakot.
“There were 13 soldiers, including the driver, on board the truck and seven of them died on the spot while the rest were injured,” a military official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The injured were evacuated to a hospital in Rawalakot, where two of them succumbed to their wounds, he said. The police said the truck fell 500 feet (150 meters) down the ravine.
