PESHAWAR: Advisor to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tourism and Culture, Zahid Chanzeb has expressed his grief and concern over the sliding down of two glaciers at Balakot’s tourist spot Naran that engulfed several hotels. He directed the authorities to conduct rescue operation on emergency basis.

It may be noted that upon receiving the information about the incident, the Tourism advisor promptly contacted the Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and apprised him of the situation while in the light of his instructions, asked the district administration and Kaghan Development Authority to conduct joint operation and send rescue teams to the incident places with modern machinery while he also kept continuous monitoring of the rescue operation.

Director General (DG) Kaghan Development Authority Shabir Khan told advisor that the incident occurred due to the collapse of Ghamla and Chapran glaciers on the Jheel Road in Naran, and in the light of his orders, some officials of a rescue team of the authority have reached to the sport on foot after a lot of difficulties. However, the details are awaited from there, he added.

The deputy commissioner said that there was a delay in reporting the incident due to the lack of mobile network in the area and other means of communication.

He said that according to the information received so far, no loss of life has been reported yet in the incident, however, almost eight hotels and tourist huts have been hit by the glacier for which rescue teams have been dispatched.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024