At least 11 people, including two women and a young child, were killed and two others suffered serious injuries when a passenger van veered off a mountainous road and plunged into the freezing Yasin River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The tragic accident occurred on Thursday evening, November 12, 2026, while the commuter vehicle was traveling from Gilgit toward the remote Yasin Valley in Ghizer district. According to local police and emergency officials, the driver lost control of the van while negotiating a sharp, narrow stretch near Morkah Bridge in Yasin tehsil, sending the vehicle tumbling down the steep rocky embankment into the fast-flowing river below. News of the devastating crash sent shockwaves across Yasin Valley, as police confirmed that every passenger aboard the ill-fated van was a local resident returning home from Gilgit.

How the Tragic Crash Unfolded Near Morkah Bridge in Ghizer

The Gilgit–Ghizer road corridor serves as the primary lifeline connecting remote mountain settlements in Yasin Valley with administrative, medical, and commercial centers in Gilgit. However, the route winds along sheer cliffs overlooking deep river gorges, leaving virtually no margin for error after dusk when visibility drops and sub-zero temperatures begin forming patches of black ice along bridge approaches. According to local police accounts, the passenger van had covered most of its evening journey from Gilgit and was approaching Morkah Yasin Bridge when the driver abruptly lost control of the steering.

Within seconds, the van skidded off the unprotected edge of the roadway, overturned down the steep slope, and crashed into the icy waters of the Yasin River. Eyewitnesses and residents from nearby villages heard the loud impact echo across the valley and immediately rushed toward the riverbank with torches and ropes to assist trapped passengers before formal rescue units could navigate the rugged terrain.

Rescue Operations at Yasin River and Treatment at Gupis Civil Hospital

Following emergency alerts, teams from the local police and rescue agencies joined dozens of local volunteers to conduct a difficult nighttime search and recovery operation along the riverbank that continued into the early hours of Friday, November 13, 2026. Working against freezing water currents and darkness, rescuers initially recovered the bodies of 10 passengers, including two women, from the submerged wreckage.

Emergency responders also managed to pull three critically injured survivors, including a young child, alive from the river. All three injured passengers were rushed immediately to Gupis Civil Hospital in Ghizer district for urgent trauma care. However, police officials later confirmed in an updated bulletin that the injured child succumbed to severe internal injuries at the hospital despite doctors' efforts, raising the final death toll to 11 while leaving two survivors under intensive medical observation. Hospital authorities and local elders worked through Friday morning to complete identification formalities and hand over the bodies of the deceased to grieving families across Yasin Valley.

Official Investigation Ordered Into Cause of the Fatal Accident

Local police official Mohammad Afzal confirmed that authorities have registered a formal case and launched an investigation to determine the exact sequence of events that caused the van to plunge off the road near Morkah Bridge. Investigators are examining multiple possibilities, including potential mechanical brake failure, over-speeding on a narrow mountain bend, driver fatigue during evening hours, or slippery road surface conditions.

Meanwhile, regional Chief Minister Amjad Hussain expressed profound grief and sorrow over the heavy loss of human lives in the Ghizer tragedy. Conveying heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families in Yasin Valley, he directed the district administration, rescue agencies, and health department officials to utilize all available resources to provide the best possible medical treatment to the two surviving injured passengers and ensure that no negligence occurs in hospital care or relief assistance.

Recurring Road Safety Crisis Across Gilgit-Baltistan and Northern Highways

Thursday’s fatal plunge into the Yasin River underscores an alarming pattern of deadly road accidents across Gilgit-Baltistan and the wider northern highway network connecting the region to Islamabad. Just last week, eight people were killed and 30 others injured when a passenger bus traveling from Gilgit to Islamabad collided violently with a dumper truck near the Havelian Interchange on the Hazara Motorway. In another major highway tragedy around the same period, a collision between a passenger bus and a truck near Pakpattan claimed 11 lives and injured 33 others.

Transport safety observers note that commuters in mountainous belts of PoK and northern Pakistan face acute daily risks due to narrow single-lane roads, sharp blind curves, an absence of steel crash barriers along deep river drops, aging commercial vans, and weak enforcement of passenger capacity and speed limits. Following the Morkah Bridge tragedy, residents and civil society groups in Ghizer have renewed urgent demands for installing protective guardrails along river-facing stretches, conducting mandatory mechanical fitness checks on passenger vans, and restricting night travel on hazardous valley roads to prevent further loss of innocent lives.