Karachi couple drowns in Skardu; son saved, mother’s body found, father missing

GILGIT: Rescuers on Tuesday recovered the body of a woman after a rafting boat carrying a family from Karachi, overturned on Monday in the Soq Valley of Kachura, a popular tourist destination near Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Skardu police spokesperson Ghulam Muhammad Shuja confirmed to HUM News English that the victims belonged to the same family from Gulistan-e-Johar, Karachi.

He said the family was rafting in a river at Soq, a remote area in upper Kachura, Skardu, when the accident occurred.

Shuja said that a 15-year-old boy was rescued unharmed, the body of his mother was recovered, and his father remains missing.

Nigh halts rescue operation

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Skardu Rescue 1122 said that the woman’s recovered body was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), while the man remained unaccounted for.

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According to him, the boat was carrying three people when it lost balance and overturned in the river. One person was rescued immediately by nearby locals, while the other two went missing.

The 1122 spokesperson said that following the recovery of the woman’s body, Rescue 1122 divers are continuing the search for the other missing person.

He also stated that teams are utilizing all available resources in the ongoing search-and-rescue operation, and urged the public to “fully cooperate with rescue teams and avoid unnecessary visits to the site.”

However, he added, the search for the missing man was halted due to darkness and will resume tomorrow.

Search ends for missing flood victims in Diamer

The couple from Karachi drowned on the same day that authorities in Gilgit-Baltistan officially called off the search operation in the flood-hit Thak Nullah area of Babusar in the Diamer district, extinguishing any remaining hopes of finding survivors.

All individuals who went missing after being swept away by the devastating flash flood are now presumed dead. “All hopes of finding the missing persons alive have ended,” G-B government spokesperson said in a statement.