Three killed, three injured on Skardu road

GILGIT: Three people were killed and three others injured when a car plunged into the Indus River in the Rundo area of Skardu on the Shahra-Baltistan on Sunday.

According to District Police Officer Public Relations Officer GM Shuja, the vehicle, bearing registration number PG 589, was traveling from Skardu to Rawalpindi when it was struck by falling rocks from a landslide at Malupa turn, causing it to plunge into the river. As a result, two men and one woman lost their lives, while one man, one woman, and a child sustained injuries. The driver was a local resident, while the other passengers were tourists from Punjab.

Also read: 10 injured in tourist bus accident at Damn-e-Koh Islamabad

Upon receiving the report, local residents, police, and Rescue 1122 rushed to the scene and retrieved the bodies and the injured from the river and surrounding areas, transporting them to Civil Hospital Thowar. The injured were provided initial medical aid before being referred to the Regional Headquarters Hospital Skardu. The deceased were kept at the Civil Hospital Thowar.

Assistant Commissioner Rondu was present at the scene, overseeing the operations and issuing directives. SHO Astak has initiated legal proceedings regarding the incident.

G-B seeks country-wide awareness drive

Meanwhile, Gilgit-Baltistan has sought a comprehensive country-wide awareness campaign in the wake of the rising traffic accidents in the region.

Principal Secretary to Gilgit-Baltistan Usman Ahmed has written a letter to his counterparts in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in this regard.

“Over the past few years, we have observed a significant increase in the number of road traffic accidents in our region, which has resulted in the tragic loss of countless precious lives, particularly those of tourists visiting Gilgit-Baltistan,” reads the letter.

Usman said that the data indicated that the number of such incidents has risen from 150 in 2020 to 230 in 2023, a trend that is “deeply alarming and demands immediate action.”

He said that a detailed analysis of these accidents revealed that a substantial majority were attributable to human error, particularly a lack of adequate driving skills suited to the challenging hilly terrain of Gilgit-Baltistan. Many of these accidents involve vehicles with automatic transmissions, which require specific handling techniques that are not widely understood by the general public.

The secretary mentioned that in response to this pressing issue, the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, despite its meager resources, has taken several proactive measures. “We have established a tourism police force, tasked with raising awareness among tourists at entry points.

Additionally, the National Highway Authority, under the instructions of the prime minister, is in the process of extending the services of the motorway police to our region to further ensure road safety,” reads the letter.

However, he said, these efforts alone were not sufficient to address the scale of the problem. “It is imperative that we launch a comprehensive awareness campaign to educate drivers about the unique challenges of driving in hilly areas and the proper techniques for handling vehicles, especially those with automatic transmissions. This campaign should be extensive, leveraging both traditional media and social media platforms to reach the widest possible audience,” he said.

Usman requested his counterparts to issue instructions for the initiation of this public awareness campaign through their Information department at the earliest possible date.

“The collaboration between our respective offices is crucial to ensure the safety of our citizens and visitors, and to mitigate the rising number of road traffic accidents in Gilgit-Baltistan,” he added.