4 tourists killed in Shangla road mishap

ALPURI: Four persons, stated to be tourists, were killed and another injured when a vehicle plunged into a river near Kagadhand Dherai in Shangla district.

“The accident occurred at around 2am when the vehicle went out of the driver’s control and fell from the main road into the Khan Khwar River,” said a police official.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Alpuri Police Station, Muhammad Arif Khan, said the victims were tourists from Nawabpur in Multan. They had been traveling from Swat to Gilgit-Baltistan after a recreational trip when the tragic incident took place, he said, adding the police and rescue teams reached the scene after receiving the report. The bodies were recovered and shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Alpuri for post-mortem, he added.

The deceased were identified as Hassan Khan, Jawad Shaukat, Muhammad Umair and Hamad Khalid. Another tourist, Dilawar Khan, sustai­n­ed serious injuries in the crash. Meanwhile, the collective funeral prayer for the victims was held at Alpuri Chowk, which was attended by a large number of people. The bodies were sent to their hometown in Multan.