No
fewer than five students were killed while twelve others were reported missing
on Sunday after a bridge collapsed at a tourist site in Pakistani Kashmir,
officials said, adding there was little hope of finding survivors.
The
bridge, which overlooked a ravine in mountainous Neelum district, collapsed
after some three dozen university students walked across it to view a
waterfall.
“We
have recovered four bodies of boys and one of a girl. Twelve others are still
missing and we don’t have any hope about them (surviving) because the water is
very cold”, said Chaudhary Imtiaz, a senior government official in Kashmir’s
capital Muzaffarabad.
Imtiaz
told AFP eight other students were injured in the accident.
Local
police official Saleem Durrani confirmed the toll and said that the authorities
had posted a warning near the bridge, telling visitors to walk across it in
small numbers because it was only designed to accommodate five people at a
time.
“The
bridge collapsed because around 40 people climbed it… at the same time,”
Durrani said.
“Its
cemented foundation could not sustain the weight”, he added.
The
scenic Himalayan region is a popular tourist destination but lacks
infrastructure.
Kashmir
has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial
rule in 1947, but both claim the territory in full.
AFP
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