Flash floods and landsliding triggered by heavy rains and cloud burst wreaked havoc in Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming 16 lives including many tourists and destroying road infrastructure. Four tourists died and 15 went missing after floods triggered by heavy rain swept through Gilgit-Baltistanís Babusar Top area in Diamer district on Monday. GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said the flood washed away eight tourist vehicles in the Thak area.

He confirmed that at least 15 tourists were missing, with four bodies recovered so far. The spokesperson said that the Babusar Highway was also blocked. Communication and electricity infrastructure have been disrupted in the area. Faraq said hundreds of stranded tourists have been rescued, while many have been given shelter by local residents. Of the other fatalities across the country in rain-related incidents, six people died in Swat, two each in Bajaur and Buner and one each in Sindh and Punjab city of Arifwala.

The disaster has taken a particularly heartbreaking toll on a family from Lodhran. Dr Saad Islam, owner of Shahida Islam Medical College, lost his wife and brother in the floods. His parents, two sisters, brother-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, and children were all vacationing with him. Among the deceased are a female doctor named Mashal, her brother Dr Fahad, and her innocent son. Dr Saad miraculously survived the catastrophe.

The dead body of another tourist has also been recovered by the rescue teams from the area. Rescue operations are still underway on Babusar Road, where 15 tourist vehicles were swept away. So far, three bodies and seven injured individuals have been recovered, but over 15 tourists remain missing. G-B Scouts have started a search for missing persons, while a military helicopter is also being used to find the Lodhran family members at Babusar Top.

In the aftermath, hundreds of stranded tourists were rescued and sheltered by local residents of Thak Babusar. More than 100 tourists, many of them from Lodhran, were ensured safety in local homes after the cloudburst. The GB government has announced that these tourists will be transported to safer urban areas by morning, although lack of communication systems has severed contact between the tourists and their families.

The Babusar Highway remains blocked, with communication and electricity systems down in the area. In Swat, torrential rain wreaked havoc. In Madian, a house collapsed due to rain, killing three children and seriously injuring a woman. In Tehsil Charbagh, a flash flood carried away a father and his two children. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of both childrenó7-year-old Afwan and 10-month-old Mohsinóafter a joint search operation by water rescue teams and locals.

In Buner, lightning struck a home in the Gokand area, killing two women. Severe flooding in the Pir Baba Khwar submerged the local bazaar, with floodwaters entering shops, streets, and even the Pir Baba police station, causing losses worth millions. Shops selling mobile phones, clothes, groceries, jewellery, and solar panels were badly affected. Two members of the same family died in the flash floods in Bajaur due to today's rain.

As per the channel report, two brothers, Gulbuddin and Jawad Khan, sons of Ziauddin, from the Ghanam Shah area of ??Loi Mamond tehsil of Bajaur, drowned in the river. Gulbuddin's body has been recovered, while the search for Jawad Khan is still ongoing. Meanwhile, traffic has been completely halted on the Karakoram Highway and the Naran-Babusar road due to hazardous conditions. According to the details, The Karakoram Highway was closed at various places due to landslides caused by cloudbursts and floods in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)