Thirteen people were killed when a jeep skidded off the highway and plunged into a ditch in Neelum Valley on Wednesday.

According to officials at the Panjgaran police station, the 13 victims included four women and three children.

They said that a rescue team was immediately dispatched to the site of the accident as soon as the incident was brought to their knowledge.

Details indicated some local people were also injured in the road mishap.

Rescuers shifted the bodies of the victims to a morgue for medico-legal procedures and the injured to a nearby hospital for medical assistance.

Rescue sources said that due to rain in the area, they were facing difficulties in operations.