Four missing tourists from Gujrat who went missing between Gilgit and Skardu on May 16 have finally been located at the bank of Indus River after Baltistan road near Istak village in Roundu valley of Skardu.
Family sources said Wasif Shahzad, 36, and Umar Ehsan, 20, both cousins from Kot Gakka near Mungowal, Salman Nasrullah Sandhu, 23, of Jassoki village and Usman Dar, 23, of Saroki had arrived in Gilgit on May 13.
DIG Gilgit range Raja Mirza Hassan said that according to police records the four friends had started their travel from Hunza to Skardu on May 15. On the way they had stayed in a hotel near Karakoram at Danyor of Gilgit.
The four friends had resumed their journey to Skardu on May 16 and since then their mobile phones could not be reached.
DIG Mirza Hassan said the last location of the missing friends was Jaglot, Gilgit.
The DIG said they were supposed to arrive Istak area of Skardu according to their reported plan. He said their whereabouts could not be traced by search teams till Saturday.
DIG said GB police, Rescue 1122 were jointly searching the missing friends at Jaglot-Skardu from Juglot to Istak
Skardu Deputy Commissioner Arif Ahmad has now confirmed that the location of the missing tourists’ vehicle has been traced near Satak Nala.
The vehicle had fallen into a deep gorge on the bank of the river below the Baltistan Highway after an accident.
Rescue 1122 and other rescue teams have been immediately dispatched to the scene to retrieve the bodies of the victims.
The relatives of the deceased youth have also been taken to the accident site.
An official of Rescue 1122 told Dawn.com that the car which was travelling to Skardu fell down in a deep ditch around 500 feet below the road.
Local police were busy searching for the missing tourists when this morning a white vehicle was seen down in a deep gorge on the bank of the river below Ganji Padi below the Baltistan Highway.
Ustak Station House Officer (SHO) Ali Faro called the rescue team to the scene. A joint team of police and rescue is trying to reach the vehicle, but they are facing a lot of difficulty it.
A crane is being arranged to bring the car up.
“The accident occurred due to high speed, due to which the vehicle went straight into a deep gorge,” the SHO said.
“One dead body is seen out of the vehicle while three are inside it. Rescue personnel are using ropes to reach the bodies.”
According to a statement issued by Rescue 1122 Gilgit team launched the search operation from soon after they went missing on May 16.
Father of one of the missing person said they lost communication with them on May 16. He had appealed to GB government, chief secretary and IGP to help trace the missing friends.
The search operation was carried out at various locations from Alam bridge to Shangus area, while Rescue 1122 team searched in Skardu. During the operation, the rescue personnel obtained information about the movement of tourists from police check posts while information was collected from local hotel owners and people of the area.
Police and Rescue 1122 searched for them in Skardu and Gilgit along Indus River from Juglot to Istak area.
“The road passes through terrain along with Indus River, where flow of water is dangerously high these days,” the DIG Mirza Hassan said.
The search was extended in remote and difficult areas with the help of binoculars to scout possible accident sites.
Many incidents happen at Baltistan road particularly from Juglote of Gilgit to Istak area of Skardu, where vehicles fall into Indus River.
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