Seven labourers working at the Diamer Bhasha Dam were killed and one was seriously injured when their vehicle fell into a ravine near the Karakoram Highway on Monday, police confirmed.
According to the Diamer Police Control Room, the eight dam workers were travelling in a Mazda vehicle when it lost control and fell into the ravine.
Diamer Rescue 1122 in charge Shoukat Riaz said that five workers died on the spot while three others were injured. Later, two of them succumbed to their injuries.
“Diamer Rescue dispatched every mortuary vehicle and ambulance”, Riaz said.
According to a list released by the RHQ Hospital Chilas, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the deceased have been identified as Yousuf, Ehsanullah, Muhibullah, Sajjad, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) employee Sajjad, and Mujeebullah. Meanwhile, the injured has been identified as Ibadullah.
Road accidents are frequent in Pakistan, where drivers often disregard traffic regulations and safety measures, especially on deteriorating roads in mountainous regions.
In May, at least 20 people died while 21 others were injured when a passenger bus overturned on the Karakoram Highway in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district, rescue officials said.
According to Diamer district rescue officer Shoukat Riaz, the bus, which belonged to a private company, was travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit when the driver lost control near Gunar Farm.
The injured were shifted to Chilas Hospital, the rescue officer said, adding that the number of injured was initially 35 but many succumbed to their injuries during treatment.
According to GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, three women were also among the dead. He noted that a total of 43 passengers were on the bus.
