It is suspected that the driver fled the scene following the accident. Nevertheless, a search operation for three missing persons, including the driver, continued into the second day until shortly after sunset, when darkness forced its temporary suspension.
Police also registered a case against the van driver, holding him responsible for alleged negligence and recklessness. The search-and-rescue operation for the remaining missing persons will resume on Saturday morning, the third day of the effort.
The number of fatalities in the tragic accident, which occurred near the Girari Bridge in the Azad Pattan area of Kahuta, has now reached six. District Emergency Officer Rescue 1122, Sabghatullah, said that the search-and-rescue operation for those swept away by the river was resumed from the same point where it had been halted on Thursday night.
He further reported that the fourth deceased victim, recovered on Thursday night, had been identified as 25-year-old Shaukat Ali. When Rescue 1122 restarted the search on Friday morning, two more bodies were recovered from the river — those of 32-year-old Umar Zaman and 58-year-old Muhammad Sadiq.
According to the District Officer, Rescue 1122, the van’s conductor, Basit, was found seriously injured in the immediate aftermath of the accident, along with three other injured passengers: 29-year-old Sajjad Shah, 52-year-old Zafar Iqbal, and 46-year-old Liaqat.
Police have also received reports suggesting that the driver, Idrees, may have managed to save himself and is believed to be in Kashmir, though this information remains unconfirmed.
Rescue officials said, on the day of the accident, the bodies of a woman aged between 60 and 70, her son Professor Naeem, and another passenger named Adeel were recovered from the water, while the identity of the fourth victim — Shaukat Ali — was confirmed on Thursday night.
Thus far, six people, including the woman, have died in the accident, while four have been rescued in injured condition. If the driver indeed drowned after sustaining injuries, then two additional passengers — 35-year-old Naseem and 15-year-old Liaqat — still remain missing.
District Officer Rescue 1122, Sabghatullah, said that on Friday, the second day of the operation, search-and-rescue efforts in the river were halted after sunset due to darkness, and will resume on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against the van driver, Muhammad Idrees, declaring the crash to be the result of his alleged negligence, carelessness, speeding, and consequent loss of human life. The case has been filed by ASI Waqas Aslam under Sections 322, 379, and 337-G of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
According to ASI Waqas Aslam, he was on duty at the Azad Pattan checkpoint with other personnel when the passenger van driven by Idrees approached at high speed. Due to excessive speed, the vehicle went out of the driver’s control and plunged into the river.
Immediate rescue operations were launched, resulting in the recovery of Basit Shah, Muhammad Liaqat, Zafar Iqbal, and Sajjad Shah alive but injured. The bodies of 60-year-old Fatima, her 50-year-old son Professor Naeem, and passenger Adeel were recovered from the river by Rescue 1122.