The bodies of four young tourists from Punjabs Gujrat district, who had been missing for over a week during a road trip to Skardu, were found on Saturday after their vehicle was discovered in a gap near Astak Nallah along Gilgit-Skardu Road.
The victims – identified as Wasif Shahzad, 36; Umar Ehsan, 20; Salman Sindhu, 23; And Usman Dar, 23 – was part of the same big family and was away from Gujrat on May 12 for a tour of northern Pakistan, including Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu.
A CCTV camera saw the vehicle on Jaglot Skardu Road at. 10.37 on May 16 in the SASI area (Gilgit-Baltist police)
Authorities said the last known contact with the group was on May 15 when they stayed at a guesthouse in Danyor, near Gilgit. The next morning they traveled to Skardu, but lost contact soon after.
After families reported them missing, police launched a search operation across control points and mountainous areas. CCTV recordings later showed their car on Jaglot-Skardu Road at. 10:37 on May 16 in the Sasi area.
However, there was no registration of the vehicle passing through the Dambodas checkpoint.
The car was eventually located on Friday in a deep gorge near Ganji Padi, a dangerous stretch of road. Rescue 1122 officials confirmed that three bodies were found inside the wreck and one outside. Local police, rescue teams and tourist police participated in the recovery effort.
Gilgit-Baltist government spokesman Iman Shah confirmed the deaths and expressed compassion for families.
