Bodies of four missing tourists from Gujrat recovered in Skardu

GILGIT: The bodies of four young tourists from Gujrat district, Punjab, were recovered on Saturday after their vehicle went missing en route from Gilgit to Skardu, police and rescue officials confirmed.

According to spokesperson for the Skardu Police, Ghulam Muhamad Shuja, the search operation was launched on directives from DIG Baltistan Asif Iqbal Mohmand and SSP Skardu Kacho Nasir Abbas, who instructed Additional SP Rondu Hassan Meer and SHO Astak Police Station to lead the search and rescue efforts.

The Rondu Police, along with the Tourist Police, had been actively involved in locating the missing tourists. On Saturday morning, a white vehicle was spotted at the base of a steep gorge near Ganji Padi, lying by the riverside.

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SHO Astak, Sub-Inspector Ali Faro, immediately dispatched a rescue team to the site. However, reaching the crashed vehicle posed significant challenges due to the terrain.

According to SHO Faro, preliminary investigations suggest the accident occurred due to over speeding, causing the vehicle to veer off the road and plunge into the ravine.

One body was seen lying outside the vehicle, while three others were trapped inside. Rescue personnel are working with ropes and harnesses to recover the bodies from the difficult-to-access location.

The individuals identified as Suleman Nasrullah, Wasif Shehzad, Umar Ehsan and Usman Dar last contacted their families on the night of May 15, when they departed from Gilgit for Skardu.

Earlier, Gilgit DIG Mirza Hassan told HUM News English that the tourists went missing in the area between Jaglot and Dambodas.

According to Hassan, the group left Hunza for Skardu on the night of May 15 and spent the night at a local hotel in Danyore. They resumed their journey towards Skardu next day. Their mobile phone signals were last detected in Jaglot, after which they went offline, and no further trace has been found.

He noted that the vehicle neither passed through any security checkpoints along the route nor captured on any CCTV cameras.