A search operation for a missing body continued for a second day after a couple from Karachi drowned in a boat capsize accident in Skardu, officials said on Wednesday.
Skardu is a popular tourist destination for local and international visitors. However, accidents are quite common due to the difficult terrain and lack of modern infrastructure.
A statement by Rescue 1122 said, “Two people went missing in a tragic boat capsizing incident in the beautiful Kachora area of Skardu. Rescue 1122 divers and rescue personnel of Skardu have recovered the body of a woman after taking immediate action, while the search for the other missing person is still ongoing.
The search and rescue operation was ongoing under the supervision of Emergency Officer Islamuddin, it added.
Baltistan Police Public Relations Officer Ghulam Muhammad told Dawn.com that a family from Karachi, who were visiting the Kachura Soq Valley in Skardu, had been rafting on a river when the raft capsized at 4pm on Tuesday.
“Three operators and a 15-year-old boy survived, while the body of a woman has been recovered and shifted to the Combined Military Hospital Skardu,” he said, adding that a search operation was underway to locate the body of her husband.
Out of the three operators, one was a local and two others were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said. “The boat operators have been arrested for investigation over negligence,” he added.
In June, four people drowned while one child remained missing after a boat carrying tourists capsized in the Shahi Bagh lake in the Kalam area of KP’s Swat.
On May 16, four tourists from Gujrat went missing between Gilgit and Skardu. They were subsequently located at the bank of the Indus River near Istak village in Skardu’s Roundu valley.
