School van catches fire after plunging off road in Murree, 11 injured

• 11 people, mostly schoolchildren, sustained injuries: officials.
• Incident occurs near Murree’s Lower Mohra Barahotra area.
• Van fire apparently caused by battery sparking, says report.

MURREE: A school van plunged into a ravine and caught fire on Angoori Road in Murree, injuring 11 people, most of them schoolchildren, rescue officials said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred near Lower Mohra Barahotra, where the van went out of control and fell off the road before catching fire, according to rescue officials.

They added that the vehicle was carrying children from private and government schools.

The injured were shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital, where District Police Officer Murree Raza Tanveer visited and enquired about their condition.

The DPO said eight of the injured children were in stable condition, while three children — Arham, Hasan Talib and Ayesha — were referred for further treatment.

According to the initial report, 11 people were travelling in the van, which had a designated capacity of eight people.

The report said all 11 occupants sustained injuries after the vehicle caught fire. The preliminary findings suggested that the fire was caused by sparking in the vehicle’s battery, while the van did not have a fire extinguisher at the time of the incident.