A passenger van fell into a river from a high altitude mountainous road in northern Pakistan, killing at least 20 people and leaving five others missing on Monday, according to local media.

The van was on its way to Rawalpindi city in Punjab province from Gilgit-Baltistan's(GB) Skardu district when it fell into the River Indus from a high mountainous road in the early hours of Monday, Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the GB government told Xinhua.

All of the injured,, including three children and a woman, are in critical condition, Faraq said, adding that the cause of the accident has not been determined yet, and the government has directed the commissioner of Skardu to submit a report after probing into the incident.

The Pakistani military, government and private rescue teams and local disaster management authority are taking part in the rescue operation, said deputy commissioner of Skardu Khurram Pervaiz.