CRUSH:
A search operation was underway on Saturday for a mountaineering guide who went missing after a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) affected seven people trekking Falak Sar peak in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, 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 PK Press Club.
He said the climber went missing in the Matiltan area located in Upper Swat around 7pm last night. “Six members of the expedition were rescued by the service,” he added.
Mansoor further said that among the six rescued trekkers, Swat Rescue 1122 medical teams shifted three injured people from Tehsil Headquarters 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 rescuer also said the other three people affected by the glacier burst were safe.
He said the incident occurred in an “extremely isolated and difficult to access area”, which was hampering search operations.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued nationwide alerts for flash floods, urban flooding and landslides from July 18 to 23 in several 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 a notice issued by its National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) on Saturday.
The NEOC said the prevailing weather conditions are consistent with its previous forecasts and it is continuously monitoring potential hazards while ensuring timely dissemination of information to all relevant authorities.
Heavy rain may trigger flash flooding in local streams, seasonal streams, and mountainous areas. Medium to high level flooding is expected in the rivers and streams of Gilgit Baltistan.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, upper and central districts face risk of flash floods and flooding 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 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. Authorities have warned that water levels could 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 rain could cause flash flooding in seasonal streams and hill streams in both areas.
