GILGIT: Three tourists, including a child, were killed and three injured when a car plunged into the Indus River in Roundu valley of Skardu on Sunday.

According to the police, the car was travelling from Islamabad to Skardu when it was hit by falling rocks from a mountain on Baltistan Road near Malupa village.

The driver lost control of the car, and it fell into the river.

The three deceased were identified as Sajid Qureshi, a minor girl from Jhelum and Syed Hassan, a local driver from Skardu.

All three died on the spot, while Adnan Qureshi, his wife Rabia Qureshi and six-year-old Asad were injured.

GB CM writes to provinces to launch awareness campaign for visiting drivers

Local police, Rescue 1122 and volunteers moved the dead and injured to the Combined Military Hospital, Skardu, where the injured are said to be in critical condition.

The bodies of the deceased would be transported to their native areas later.

Following the accident, locals blocked the Baltistan Road to protest against frequent accidents.

They claimed that the road is prone to accidents due to its flawed design and structural issues.

Imran Nadeem Shigri, PPP leader and a former member of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly said, vehicles travelling without proper maintenance, and violation of traffic rules are claimed to be the main source of traffic accidents. But little is said about the safety of road infrastructure.

“What we fail to recognise is that the structural flaws in road infrastructure are mainly the reason many preventable accidents occur on a daily basis,” he added.

Mr Shigri said that time and again, concerns have been raised over the structural engineering of Baltistan Road, but the authorities have not made any efforts to fix the issues.

He warned that unless these structural flaws are removed, such accidents will continue to occur.

Road safety awareness

Earlier on Saturday, the GB government advised chief ministers of all four provinces and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister to initiate a road safety awareness drive for tourists visiting the region.

In letters written to the CMs of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, Sindh and Balochistan and the AJK PM, GB CM Haji Gulbar Khan said traffic accidents involving tourists have increased in the region.

CM Khan said the accidents have resulted in tragic loss of lives, particularly those of tourists.

As per the data, the number of such incidents had risen from 150 in 2020 to 230 in 2023, a trend that is deeply alarming and demands immediate action, the CM added.

He requested his counterparts to launch a comprehensive awareness campaign to educate drivers who visit GB about the challenge of driving in hilly areas and proper techniques for handling vehicles, especially those with automatic transmissions.

“We request your esteemed offices to issue instructions for the initiation of this public awareness campaign through your information department at the earliest possible date,” the letter stated.

“The collaboration between our respective offices is crucial to ensure the safety of our citizens and visitors and to mitigate the rising number of road traffic accidents in Gilgit-Baltistan.”

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2024