As many as 12 youths who had drowned after the jeep they were on board fell into Neelam River in Neelam Valley were from the Ichhra area of Lahore, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.

Nine of them who had drowned in the river were cousins while three others were their neighbours.

The incident sent a wave of shock and grief among the residents of Icchra, Lahore.

A local named Muhammad Ahmed told 24NewsHD TV channel that they had received information about the death of Ghulam Miran on phone.

“The condition of Hasnain, Shahzad, Moin and Zain was stated to be critical,” he said and added that seven boys were still missing.

Citizens were coming to the houses of the boys till the filing of the report.

According to District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), the incident took place when the jeep, coming from Taobat (the last village of Neelam Valley) to Kel Town, careened into the Neelam River near Phallawi owing to bad road condition.

The group of 12 people, all of whom belonged to Lahore, were on board the jeep with the driver and his helper.

The rescue teams had rushed to the scene soon after receiving the information and started rescue operation.

Reporter: Shahzad Khan