SWAT:
A search operation was underway on Saturday to trace a mountaineering guide who went missing after a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) hit seven people walking on Falak Sar Peak in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, Rescue 1122 said.
“Swat’s legendary mountaineer Mian Syed Ali Shah was climbing Falak Sar Peak when his safety rope snapped, causing him to fall from the peak. He has since gone missing and a search is on to find him,” Swat Rescue 1122 District Emergency Officer Syed Shoaib Mansoor told The Express Pakinomist.
He said the mountaineer went missing in the Matiltan area of Upper Swat around 7 pm last night. “Six expedition members have been rescued by the service,” he added.
Mansoor further said that of the six rescued hikers, Swat Rescue 1122 medical teams shifted three injured persons from Tehsil headquarters hospital in Kalam to Central Hospital Saidu Sharif 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 officer also said the remaining three people affected by the glacier eruption were safe.
He said the incident took place in an “extremely remote and difficult to access area”, hampering the search operation.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued nationwide flash flood, urban flooding and landslide warnings from July 18 to 23 in several parts of the country, including Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Islamabad and northeastern Balochist.
The authority is urging citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and take precautions, according to an advisory issued by its National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) on Saturday.
NEOC said the prevailing weather conditions are consistent with its previous forecast and it is continuously monitoring potential hazards while ensuring timely dissemination of information to all relevant authorities.
Heavy rainfall can trigger flash flooding in local streams, seasonal waterways and mountainous areas. Moderate to high flooding is expected in rivers and streams across Gilgit Baltistan.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, upper and central districts face the risk of flash floods and heavy flows in hill streams and seasonal streams.
The NDMA has also issued a landslide alert for Azad Jammu and Kashmir from July 19 to 24. Continuous rainfall 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 the water level may rise significantly in the Neelum, Jhelum and Poonchta rivers in the Kamir rivers and in Azad Jammu.
Separately, NDMA has issued flood alerts for Punjab and Northeast Balochistan from July 17 to 23. Heavy rains can cause flooding in seasonal streams and hill streams in both regions.
