Five students dead, 12 missing after Pakistan bridge collapses
At least five students were killed and 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)