PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Rescue groups in northern Pakistan expanded their search Friday for at the very least a dozen vacationers who went lacking earlier this week after being swept away by flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains, officers mentioned.
Not less than 12 lacking vacationers are believed to be buried underneath a large pile of boulders and dirt alongside a broken stretch of freeway in Pakistan’s mountainous north, mentioned Faizullah Faraq, a authorities spokesperson.
“Rescuers are racing towards time to hint and rescue the lacking vacationers,” Faraq mentioned. He mentioned engineers have been working day and evening to reopen the important thing Karakoram Freeway to revive the motion of individuals, items, and commerce between Pakistan and China via the border area.
Military helicopters have been used this week to evacuate 300 vacationers who had been stranded in distant areas due to the land sliding and flooding, and navy planes have been used to move them to main cities.
Damaged roads, scattered boulders and thick layers of mud spotlight the destruction brought on by a robust flash flood that minimize off the scenic north from the remainder of the nation.
Footage on social media confirmed a number of automobiles remained stranded in particles alongside the freeway, whereas vacationers have been seen strolling alongside slim mountain paths to succeed in safer areas.
Emergency crews have since Tuesday recovered the our bodies of eight vacationers and a resident whose automobiles have been buried underneath the rubble whereas touring to the scenic Chilas and Skardu districts in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, Faraq mentioned.
The useless included three members from the identical household who had traveled from varied elements of the nation, together with the japanese Punjab province, he mentioned.
Gulbar Khan, the chief minister in Gilgit-Baltistan, advised reporters Friday that efforts have been underway to restore broken roads.
He mentioned tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan has taken a major hit following the deaths and the closure of elements of the freeway, which is a crucial artery via the scenic area.
Nasir Hussain, an official on the Gilgit-Baltistan Lodge and Eating places Affiliation, mentioned this yr’s monsoon rains have wreaked havoc on the tourism business. In the course of the peak season from Might to September, an estimated a million Pakistani and international vacationers go to the Gilgit-Baltistan area, Hussian mentioned. He mentioned many vacationers have been planning to journey to different areas.
Regional authorities official Akbar Ahmed mentioned some vacationers have been heading to Chilas and Skardu regardless of a number of flood alerts and warnings from the National Disaster Management Authority of potential landslides and highway closures.
Pakistan has skilled 82% more rainfall this month compared to the same period in July 2024. Based on Pakistan Meteorological Division, this month’s flash floods within the north have been brought on by cloudbursts and glacial melting — each worsened by local weather change.
Pakistan has acquired above-average rainfall this season, elevating issues of a repeat of the devastating 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and killed 1,737 people.