CRUSH:
A search operation was underway on Saturday to locate a mountaineering guide who went missing after a Glacial Lake Flood (GLOF) hit seven people trekking on Falak Sar peak in Swat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Rescue 1122 said.
“Legendary Swat mountaineer Mian Syed Ali Shah was climbing Falak Sar peak when his safety rope broke, causing him to fall from the summit. He has since gone missing and a search operation is underway to find him,” Swat Rescue District 1122 Emergency Officer Syed Shoaib Mansoor told The Express PAkGazette.
He said the mountaineer went missing in the Matiltan area located in Upper Swat around 7pm last night. “Six expedition members were rescued by the service,” he added.
Mansoor further said that of the six rescued trekkers, Swat Rescue 1122 medical teams shifted three injured people from Tehsil Central Hospital in Kalam to Saidu Sharif Central Hospital in Swat.
According to Rescue 1122, the injured were identified as Hawar Hussain, 40, Haris, 22, and Haroon, 27, all residents of Rawalpindi.
The rescue official also said that the three remaining people affected by the glacier calving were safe.
The incident took place in an “extremely remote and difficult-to-access area,” which hampered the search operation, he said.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued nationwide alerts for flash floods, urban flooding and landslides from July 18 to 23 in various parts of the country including Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Islamabad and northeast Balochistan.
The authority urges citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and take precautionary measures, according to an advisory issued on Saturday by its National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC).
The NEOC said the prevailing weather conditions are in line with its previous forecast and that it is continuously monitoring potential hazards while ensuring timely dissemination of information to all relevant authorities.
Heavy rain can cause flash flooding in local streams, seasonal waterways and mountainous regions. Medium to high level flooding is expected in rivers and streams throughout Gilgit Baltistan.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the upper and central districts face the risk of flash floods and flooding of hill torrents and seasonal streams.
The NDMA also issued a landslide alert for Azad Jammu and Kashmir from July 19 to 24. Continuous rains may trigger landslides in Neelum, Haveli, Poonch, Muzaffarabad and Bagh districts. Moderate risks also exist in the hilly areas of Kotli, Sudhnoti, Mirpur and Bhimber. Roads in Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Kahuta and Bhimber may be affected by falling debris and landslides, disrupting traffic movement. The authority warned that water levels may rise significantly in the Neelum, Jhelum and Poonch rivers and their tributaries in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Separately, the NDMA has issued flood alerts for Punjab and northeast Balochistan from July 17 to 23. Heavy rainfall may cause flash flooding in seasonal streams and hill torrents in both regions.
