MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan: An old wooden bridge over a fast-moving river in Kashmir collapsed as dozens of students were taking pictures on it, leading to at least five deaths on Sunday.
Javed Ayub, a top tourism department official in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, said 14 students were rescued after the bridge collapsed and that civil and military rescue teams were searching for 11 others.
Ayub said rescue workers recovered the bodies of five drowned students. The students, most in their early 20s, were enrolled in the medical college at Faisalabad in eastern Punjab province. He said some students from a college in Lahore were also among those fell in the river.
“We hope for the best but it will be difficult to find the remaining (students) alive as the water flow is very high,” said Ayub.
Ayub said the hanging wooden bridge was designed for locals to use in small numbers. “The touring youths have not realized the danger despite a warning board asking people not to overload the old structure,” he said.
Police official Mohammad Siddiq said eight of the rescued students were injured and airlifted to Muzaffarabad in a military helicopter for medical aid. He said the tragic incident took place near the picnic point of Kundal Shahi, some 75 kilometers (approx. 47 miles) north of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir.
The Neelum Valley is a popular tourist destination in the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir.
Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India, both of which claim the Himalayan region in its entirety.
Bridge collapses into river in Kashmir; 5 dead, 11 missing
Bridge collapses into river in Kashmir; 5 dead, 11 missing
- Dozens of students were taking pictures on an old wooden bridge when it collapsed, leading to at least five deaths
- 14 students were rescued and military rescue teams were searching for 11 others
US will respond to Rwanda’s violation of peace pact, says Rubio
- Waltz told the Security Council meeting that the US “is deeply concerned and increasingly disappointed” by this resurgence of violence
WASHINGTON: Top US diplomat Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Rwanda had clearly violated the peace agreement it signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Washington last week and vowed unspecified “action” in response.
The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group advanced in eastern DRC and seized the key border city of Uvira, just days after the leaders signed the “Washington Accords” on Dec. 4.
“Rwanda’s actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords, and the US will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept,” Secretary of State Rubio wrote on X.
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UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the new offensive ‘has revived the specter of a regional conflagration with incalculable consequences.’
The capture of Uvira, along the border with Burundi, has raised fears that the conflict could escalate into a regional war.
As part of an offensive launched at the beginning of December in South Kivu province, the armed group’s takeover follows its earlier this year capture of Goma and Bukavu, other major cities in the DRC’s mineral-rich east.
On Friday, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz accused Rwanda of “leading the region toward more instability and toward war.”
“The Rwandan defense forces have provided materiel, logistics, and training support to M23 as well as fighting alongside M23 in DRC with roughly 5,000 to 7,000 troops,” not including possible reinforcements during the latest offensive, Waltz told the UN Security Council.
The Rwandan firepower has included surface-to-air missiles, drones, and artillery, he added.
Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 has seized swaths of territory, displacing tens of thousands and leading to a spiraling humanitarian crisis.
Earlier this month, UN experts said Rwanda’s army and the M23 had carried out summary executions and forced mass displacements of people in the region.
Waltz told the Security Council meeting that the US “is deeply concerned and increasingly disappointed” by this resurgence of violence.
The envoy denounced “the scale and sophistication” of Rwanda’s involvement in eastern DRC.
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the new offensive “has revived the specter of a regional conflagration with incalculable consequences.”
“Recent developments pose a serious risk of the progressive fragmentation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly its eastern part,” he said.
Burundi on Friday accused Rwanda of bombing its territory, and its ambassador, Zephyrin Maniratanga, told the council it “reserves the right to use self-defense.”
He warned that if the attacks continue, it would be extremely difficult to avoid an escalation between the two African countries.
“Rwanda is not waging war against the Republic of Burundi and has no intention of doing that,” Ambassador Martin Ngoga said.
Meanwhile, Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner criticized the Security Council for its “lack of action” and called for sanctions against Rwanda.
Despite a resolution adopted in February demanding the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and a ceasefire, “the situation is undeniable: another city has fallen, a parallel administration has consolidated itself, thousands more families have fled, and others have been killed, raped, and terrorized,” she said.
