Daily Times

NEELUM VALLEY: Rescue teams continued the operation on Monday to recover missing students after a bridge collapsed in the Neelum Valley in Azad Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

According to police reports, 23 students fell into the river in Nala Jagran in Kundal Shahi area on Sunday when a bridge suddenly collapsed. The victims were mostly students of a college from Faisalabad who were visiting the valley.

11 of those students were rescued instantly and six dead bodies have been recovered so far.

The rescue operation is still going on as six students are still missing.

Pakistani Army personnel also came to help in the search and rescue operation. They shifted four bodies and 11 injured people to Muzaffarabad from Shahkot by helicopter according to the army’s media wing.

Locals reported that the bridge was only capable of withstanding a total of four people at a time and it also had warning signs but the students ignored this.

Raja Farooq Haider AJK Prime Minister took serious notice of the incident and had a control room set up in Muzaffarabad. They have also issued a number to call which is 0582220097 for the families of the victims.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also conveyed his condolences and support to the families who lost their loved one in the incident.