At least eight volunteers were killed and several others feared trapped when a landslide hit a flood -damaged water channel in Gilgits Danyor Nullah during repair work, police said Monday.
The volunteer restored the channel when a land of the land collapsed and buried them under waste, police said.
Hospital sources confirmed that all the dead were members of a local volunteer team while three others were injured.
As the search goes after more survivors, authorities have declared emerging in local hospitals.
A spokesman for the provincial government said that accelerated ice melt, driven by climate change, had increased the water flow in several streams.
Read: Climate Erosion cuts Karakoram Highway in Upper Hunza
The Shishper -Gletscher recently flooded, damaged agricultural land and closed part of Karakoram Highway (KKH) against Hunza. Traffic was redirected via Nagar Road.
Officials have warned of further rain and landslide in the region.
A significant stretch of KKH in Upper Hunza’s Morkhun area was destroyed by rivers erosion, separating the overland connection between Pakistan and China, the Gilgit-Baltist government (GB) said.
“River erosion is still an important contributor to highway blocks in the region,” a cryosphere expert told Express Pakinomist. “Although disturbances at KKH are not unusual, the current intensity of river swelling and the scale of damage is significantly higher.”
Read more: Over 110 died since the end of June when the monsoon rains create destruction in Pakistan
GB government spokesman Faizullah Faraq confirmed that the increased river flow led to the erosion of a section of KKH, making it unacceptable.
Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan has directed the immediate restoration of the highway.
Tidligere advarede myndighederne om mulig oversvømmelse i lokale vandløb og nullahs i Dera Ghazi Khan, Northeastern og Upper Punjab, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Northeastern Balochistan, Kashmir, Chitral, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Murree, Galiyat, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Swabi, Swabi, Nowsher, and and Abtabad, Buner, Swabi, Marran.
There is also a high risk of landslide in K-PS’s hilly areas, Murree, Galiyat, Kashmir and GB, which potentially interfere with road networks and communication.
