200 stranded tourists rescued in rain-hit Kumrat Valley

As many as 200 tourists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kumrat Valley in Upper Dir District were rescued after the authorities began an operation following reports aired by Geo News on the destruction caused by heavy rains in the area.

Following stormy rains a few days ago, the tourist destination disconnected from the rest of the province after floods swept away an arterial road, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded in the Kumrat Valley.

A spokesperson of the KP’s Tourism and Culture Authority confirmed that 200 tourists have been rescued today from Dojangla, Kala Chesma and Abshar along with the police and district administration.

He said that the tourists were assembled at a local hotel where they would be shifted to Kalam. Food and other services were being provided to all tourists, he added.

The tourists told Geo News that they were stranded in Kumrat for several hours as the only road from Thall Bazaar to upper areas like Kalam and others was washed away in the floods.

They thanked Geo News for highlighting their plight which led to a rescue operation by the authorities.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of the province said in its latest report that the main road from Thall to Kumrat was washed out at multiple places, including Barikot Kalkot and Patrak, due to sliding and flash floods yesterday.

However, no casualty was reported today.

Additionally, the bridge in Mohandri was affected and blocked for traffic due to a flood in Manuur Nullah two days ago, allowing citizens to only cross the bridge on foot.

The ongoing rains and floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have claimed the lives of at least 88 people from July 1 till date, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Saturday.

According to the authority, the persistent monsoon season has so far claimed the lives of at least 43 children, 26 men and 19 women.

On the other hand, at least 129 people have been injured owing to the devastations in the wake of the torrential rains since last month. Those injured include 61 children, 39 men and 29 women, said PDMA.

“A total of 958 houses were damaged by rains,” added the authority.