Murree School Van Plunges Into Ravine, 11 Children Injured in Fire
MURREE, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Eleven children were injured after a private school van plunged into a ravine and caught fire near Sain Road in the Masyari area of Murree on Tuesday, prompting a joint rescue and police operation.
According to Murree District Police Officer Raza Tanveer, the van was carrying children from two private schools when it crashed. Police later said the vehicle was carrying 12 children who had been picked up from different areas.
The DPO said suspected brake failure was reported as the cause of the crash, after which the vehicle caught fire. Authorities had not announced a final technical investigation into the cause at the time of reporting.
Four children who suffered more serious burns were referred for treatment in Rawalpindi, while eight children with comparatively minor injuries were being treated at District Headquarters Hospital Murree, according to the DPO.
Express reported that 8-year-old Arham suffered burns to around 38% of his body, 8-year-old Hassan Talib suffered approximately 26% burns, while Ayesha sustained around 42% burns. Police said the other children were in stable condition; two escaped burn injuries while six suffered burns covering less than 10% of their bodies.
Emergency teams extinguished the fire and carried out cooling operations at the crash site as police and rescue personnel continued their response.
The DPO said authorities would expand vehicle fitness inspections to transport operating on local and rural roads following the accident. He also said another van fire had occurred in Murree around two months earlier. ا
A separate same-day report described the accident near Lower Mohra Bara Hotar and reported 10 children seriously injured, indicating an early discrepancy in reporting. The later, more detailed account attributed directly to the Murree DPO reported 11 injured children, so that figure is used here.
