10 die in Upper Dir road accident

DIR: Ten persons, including four women and three kids, died while 17 others were injured when a passenger van coming from Mardan to the Kalkot area plunged into a ravine in the Chalal Patrak area of Upper Dir district here on Monday, local and police sources said.

It was learnt that the driver, Rafiullah, lost control over the steering wheel of the coach (C1775), which met the accident in the Kohistan area of the district.Those who died were identified as Bakht Zada, Javed, Naseeb Jana, Shaheen, Rashid, Farhan Ullah, Ehtisham, Sheryar, Kalssom and Sooma.

Rescue officials and locals took the bodies and injured persons to a local hospital at Patrak and District Headquarters Hospital Dir, while those seriously injured were shifted to Peshawar.Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and local Pakistan People’s Party leader Arifullah Khan, Member National Assembly and parliamentary secretary Sahibzada Sibghatullah, and former MNA Tariqullsah expressed grief over the loss of lives and offered condolences to the bereaved families.