SWAT: A 59-year-old man and his eight-year-old son drowned in the Swat River near Fizagat here the other day.

In a joint rescue effort, Rescue 1122 and civil defence personnel along with local residents rescued minor Saud Khan alive, while the body of his father, Bakht Syed, was recovered from the river near Odigram. Following the completion of the necessary legal procedures, the body was shifted to Central Hospital in Saidu Sharif. The two belonged to the Buner district.

WILDFIRES: Firefighting teams of Rescue 1122 Swat continued efforts to extinguish a forest fire that erupted in the mountainous range of Shagai in Babuzai tehsil here.

According to Rescue 1122, emergency teams rushed to the site immediately after the control room received the alert. Firefighters have been engaged in a continuous operation to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further despite the difficult terrain and steep mountainous landscape.

Officials said the challenging topography had complicated firefighting operations but Rescue 1122 personnel remained on the ground, working to bring the fire under complete control.

Forest fires have become an increasingly frequent challenge across the Malakand Division, particularly during the hot and dry summer months. Over the past year, numerous wildfire incidents have been reported in the mountainous forests of Swat, Lower and Upper Dir, Shangla, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur and surrounding districts, damaging forests, wildlife habitats and grazing lands.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026