The bodies of four young tourists from the Gujrat district of Punjab, who had been missing for more than a week during a road trip to Skardu, were found on Saturday after their vehicle was discovered in a ravine near Astak Nallah along the Gilgit-Skardu road.
The victims, identified as Wasif Shahzad, 36; Umar Ehsan, 20; Salman Sindhu, 23; and Usman Dar, 23, were part of the same extended family and had moved away from Gujrat on May 12 for a tour of Northern Pakistan, including Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu.
A CCTV camera saw the vehicle in Jaglot Skardu Road at 10.37 am on May 16 in the Sasi area (Gilgit-Baltistan police)
The authorities said that the last known contact with the group was on May 15, when they stayed in a guest house in Danyor, near Gilgit. The next morning, they went to Skardu but lost contact shortly after.
After the families informed them missing, the police launched a search operation through control points and mountainous areas. CCTV images later showed their car on the Jaglot-Skardu road at 10:37 am on May 16 in the Sasi area.
However, there was no record of the vehicle that passed through the Dambodas control point.
The car was finally located on Friday in a deep throat near Ganji Padi, a dangerous section of the road. Rescue 1122 officials confirmed that three bodies were found within the remains and one outside. The local police, rescue teams and tourist police participated in the recovery effort.
Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, Iman Shah, confirmed the deaths and expressed his condolences to families.
