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Rescue teams retrieved the bodies of five tourists who were swept away by flash floods triggered by a cloudburst at Babusar Top in Gilgit-Baltistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.
The floods, caused by torrential rains in Chilas, swept away more than 15 tourist vehicles, according to ARY News. While five bodies have been recovered and four people rescued so far, the search operation for the remaining missing tourists is still underway. Spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan government, Faizullah Faraq, confirmed that efforts to locate those missing continue. He noted that rescue activities were hampered due to nightfall, ARY News reported. Authorities and local residents have jointly rescued over 200 stranded tourists. Residents of Thak Babusar have provided shelter to more than 100 individuals in their homes, ARY News stated. Additionally, all hotels and guesthouses in the city have been made available free of charge to tourists as part of the emergency response. In the Diamer region, about 20 locations on the Babusar Road and Silk Route have been rendered impassable due to flood damage. Authorities reported that approximately eight kilometres of road infrastructure has been severely affected. To support affected communities, the Gilgit-Baltistan government has begun distributing ration packs and tents in the impacted areas. Cloudbursts, flooding, and landslides in the Diamer district have also blocked several sections of the Karakoram Highway. On the directive of the Chairman of the National Highway Authority (NHA), teams have been deployed to restore damaged routes, ARY News reported. Meanwhile, in another rain-related tragedy, at least four children lost their lives on Monday as flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains wreaked havoc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swat district, ARY News reported. Torrential rains led to landslides and powerful flood currents across various areas of the district, resulting in the deaths of four children and leaving one child missing, according to ARY News. Rescue efforts are currently underway to locate the missing child. In the remote Shanko area of Madyan, a landslide struck a house, killing three children and injuring their mother. ARY News reported that in the Sodher area of Malam Jabba, two children were swept away by flash floods. One of them, a 7-year-old boy, was confirmed dead, while the other remains missing. Rainfall continues intermittently in the upper regions, prompting residents of low-lying areas along the Swat River to begin evacuating due to rising water levels, ARY News stated. Local residents criticised the authorities, claiming that no prior flood warning or alert had been issued by the administration, ARY News added. (ANI)
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