Karakoram Highway blockage at multiple points due to landslides leaves passengers stranded for hours
GILGIT: The Karakoram Highway (KKH), which had been blocked at multiple locations between GB’s Diamer and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohistan due to landslides amid rain and snowfall, reopened for traffic on Wednesday.
The highway was blocked on Tuesday evening, and Diamer Deputy Commissioner Ataur Rehman Kakar told Dawn that it reopened for traffic on Wednesday at around 4pm.
He said rain, however, was still pouring, and there were chances of “rockfalls and landslides”.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had earlier issued an alert for an increased risk of glacial lake outburst flood, snow avalanches, and landslides in GB and upper KP till March 12.
Due to the blockages, thousands of passengers, including patients, elders, and children travelling towards GB or to other parts of the country, remained stranded at multiple locations on Tuesday night.
According to Diamer police, landslides had occurred at multiple locations in Diamer and Kohistan districts on Tuesday. The landslides blocked the KKH at multiple locations from Upper Kohistan’s Barseen to the Pattan area in Lower Kohistan.
A statement issued by Diamer DC Rehman said the KKH had been closed due to landslides at several places in Upper and Lower Kohistan.
According to police, most parts of GB received rainfall while upper areas received fresh snowfall on Tuesday and Wednesday, creating difficulties for local residents.
Police said intermittent rain caused landslides in remote areas that disconnected people’s access to other areas.
Lightning strike kills 3 in Shangla
Separately, three members of a family, a couple and their son, were killed when lightning struck their house in the Lilownai Achar area of KP’s Shangla district in the early hours of Wednesday.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Rasool Khan Sharif told Dawn that the incident occurred in a remote village a few miles from the district headquarters, Alpuri, during a spell of severe weather.
The deceased were identified as a husband and wife, as well as one of their sons. Three other children in the house survived the strike unharmed.
The incident took place as heavy rains continued to lash the northern parts of KP for a second consecutive day.
Additional input from Umar Bacha