Pakistan: 18 tourists swept away in Swat flash floods

Islamabad: Seven people died after 18 tourists, including women and children, were carried away by flash floods on Friday in the Swat River in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The incident occurred in the Fizagat area, where the members of two families were having breakfast near the riverbank when a sudden rise in the water level swept away many of them, local media reported.

According to the rescue officials, three individuals have been pulled to safety during the rescue operation

“We received information about the drowning of these people around 8 am. There were guests on the bypass who were sitting on the bank of the river. These people were not aware of the water relay,” a rescue official said.

Confirming the incident, the Deputy Commissioner Swat, Shahzad Mehboob, said that seven bodies have been recovered until now. He further added that the sudden flash floods trapped nearly 73 people across multiple locations in Swat, adding that rescue operations are facing major difficulties.

Recounting the incident, a distraught tourist revealed that 10 members of his immediate family were swept away with the body of one woman having been found and search for nine children still ongoing.

“We were having breakfast and drinking tea, and the children went to take a selfie near the river. At that time, there was not much water in the river,” local media quoted the family member as saying.

He added that the rescue officials arrived at the scene hours after the incident was reported; by then, the children who were still struggling in the river upon their arrival were swept away.

A horrific video capturing the tragic incident has also gone viral on social media, which shows women and children stranded in the river as onlookers appear visibly shocked.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses strongly criticised the local authorities, describing it as gross negligence and alleging that the stranded tourists in the video were without assistance for nearly two hours before being swept away. They claimed that despite desperate cries for help, no immediate rescue attempt was initiated.

Reports suggest that the victims were residents of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

IANS