In a tragic incident, three tourists have lost their lives under glacial collapse as they got buried beneath the glacial slide, in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa’s Mansehra district, on Friday.
Spokesperson Amir Khadam Khan of Rescue 1122 Mansehra, told Dawn that the incident occured in Sohni waterfall near Naran region. “The tourists, hailing from Lahore, were taking selfies near the glacier when it slid down, burying them underneath,” he says.
He further added that the dead bodies have been recovered and have been transferred to a nearby hospital, where they identified as 35-year-old Mohammad Tahir, 22-year-old Mohammad Tayyab, and 13-year-old Abubakar.
Zahed Chanzeb, advisor to CM Khyber Pakhtunkhawa on Tourism, grieved over the incident and expressed his condolences to the mourning families. He said that arrangements to deliver bodies to Lahore have been made.
According to his statement, he advised tourists to be careful near the dangerous places and avoid taking selfies or similar activities near such places, especially near glacial region as they are rapidly melting due to the on going climate changes.
He also mentioned that he will start an advisory campaign where tourists be made fully aware and to adapt and follow the safety precautions while visiting the tourist spots.
Last month, four missing tourists from Gujrat found dead on May 16 at the bank of the Indus River near Istak village in Skardu’s Roundu valley.
In March, a UN report warned that rapidly melting glaciers and snow have endangered the global ecosystem and billions of people who rely on freshwater from these sources.