Daily Times

NEELUM: A tragic incident occurred on Sunday as Neelum Valley’s Kundal Shahi bridge fell along with 40 people on it.

As per reports,  almost 25 travelers were taking pictures in Nala Jagran area on the bridge when it suddenly collapsed into pieces.

According to Police reports, the bridge fell due to excessive weight levied on it, taking more than 40 people down with it.

A rescue operation was initiated, that successfully rescued six people. However, due to the rapid flow of the river, the rescue teams said that the chances of rescuing people out of the water alive were minimum.

Rescue authorities have till now recovered three dead bodies of  students, reportedly of PIP’s College Faisalabad who have been identified as Shahzeb, Abdul Rehman and Mohammad Nayyer. However, three  students of the same college were rescued with injuries. The rescued were identified as Anam daughter of Matloob, Aleena bibi and Waleed Sajid.

Prime Minister (PM) Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider expressed grief and took notice of the incident,  he summoning a report from Deputy Commissioner (Neelum) and Superintendent of Police (SP) of the incident. He also directed to fasten the rescue operation and to keep him informed with the timely updates of the operation.

PM Farooq further added that stern action should be taken against those responsible for the incident as well as for such mismanagement.

The rescue operation is ongoing. Pakistan army has also contributed to the efforts of rescue authorities but the fear of a high death toll is in speculation as the river flow is extremely rapid.