MANSEHRA — A family trip turned into a tragedy Tuesday when their vehicle veered off a mountain road and plummeted into a deep ravine in the Kaghan Valley, killing all four occupants.
The accident occurred in the Gari Habibullah area. Local police said the driver lost control of the vehicle on a sharp, narrow turn, sending the car tumbling hundreds of feet down the mountainside.
Rescuers reached the site within an hour, but the steep terrain and depth of the gorge hampered recovery efforts. By the time emergency crews pulled the victims from the wreckage, all four had succumbed to their injuries.
“It was a difficult operation,” said a local police spokesperson. “The slope is nearly vertical at that point. We had to use ropes and local volunteers to bring the bodies up to the road.”
Officials identified the victims but withheld their names pending notification of kin. Initial reports suggest the group was traveling from Rawalpindi toward Naran when the steering failed, causing the car to skid off the rain-slicked pavement.
Road safety in Northern Pakistan remains a persistent issue. The winding, narrow mountain passes—often lacking guardrails—see frequent accidents during the peak tourist season. While the government has pledged to upgrade infrastructure along the Mansehra-Naran road, many stretches remain treacherous for drivers unfamiliar with the sharp gradients and loose gravel.
The bodies have been shifted to a nearby hospital for post-mortem examinations. Authorities are now processing the site to confirm if mechanical failure or driver fatigue played a role in the crash.
For the families waiting at home, the trip intended for recreation ended in a morgue. The road remains open to traffic, but local authorities have issued a reminder for travelers to exercise extreme caution on the region’s volatile mountain passes.
