PESHAWAR: Eid turned gloomy for many families as at least 22 people were killed and many others injured in different incidents in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during Eid holidays.

In Shangla, seven picnickers were killed in two different incidents on Wednesday. In the first accident, six people were killed when a pickup van carrying seven passengers fell into a deep ravine near Ambela. The victims were friends and residents of Ambela village.

When contacted, Karora SHO Haleem Khan said that six people died on the spot while one injured was taken to the local hospital.

The deceased were identified as Umar Mohammad and Abdul Haleem of Shapur, and Mohammad Ameen, Wali Mohammad, Mohammad Khan and Saeed Ghaffar of Ambela.

Scores also injured in road mishaps

Similarly, a tourist lost his life when he fell into the Indus River while capturing a selfie on Monday. Police said that Tanweer Shah, a tourist from Oghi, was taking a selfie on his bike and fell into the Indus River along with his bike and drowned.

His body couldn’t be recovered despite efforts by local divers.

In Mansehra, four tourists died and seven others sustained critical injuries as a record number of picnickers rushed to the Kaghan valley on Eidul Fitr.

The tourists from across the country thronged Kaghan valley on the first three days of Eid and according to police over 100,000 vehicles took the picnickers to the valley to enjoy pleasant weather and tourist attractions.

Qazi Adil and his cousin Hayat Qadar of Peshawar died when their jeep slipped from a glacier at Saiful Muluk Lake Road and fell into a deep ravine. Seven other members of the same family sustained critical injuries who were taken the civil hospital in Naran.

In another accident, a jeep skidded off the road in Batta Kundi area of Kaghan valley and fell into Kunhar River. As a result, two tourists were presumed dead and their bodies were yet to be retrieved.

In Nowshera, four friends died when a boat capsized in the Indus River. The deceased were laid to rest here at Shaidu on Tuesday after their bodies were retrieved by rescue workers. They were identified as Ayaz Khan, Mashood Khan, Mansoor Khan and Hamad Gul.

Officials said that 12 of 16 people on the boat managed to swim to the shore. The police said that the boat was not fit for use, but the owner used it for earning money.

In Karak, at least five people were killed in two different incidents. Four people died when a van fell into a deep ditch on Kohat-Bannu Road.

They were identified as Asif, Zeshan, Sohail Ahmad and Tahir Naveed. Also, a picnicker identified as Aamir drowned in Zebi Dam.

In Lakki Marwat, two people were killed when a car rammed into a roadside tree in Gandi chowk on the Indus Highway.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2017