The bodies of four young tourists from Punjab’s Gujrat district, who had been missing for over a week during a road trip to Skardu, were found on Saturday after their vehicle was discovered in a ravine near Astak Nallah along the Gilgit-Skardu road.
The victims—identified as Wasif Shahzad, 36; Umar Ehsan, 20; Salman Sindhu, 23; and Usman Dar, 23—were part of the same extended family and had departed from Gujrat on May 12 for a tour of northern Pakistan, including Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu.
A CCTV camera saw the vehicle on Jaglot Skardu Road at 10.37 am on May 16 in Sasi area (Gilgit-Baltistan Police)
Authorities said the last known contact with the group was on May 15, when they stayed at a guesthouse in Danyor, near Gilgit. The next morning, they set out for Skardu but lost contact shortly after.
After families reported them missing, police launched a search operation across checkpoints and mountainous areas. CCTV footage later showed their car on the Jaglot-Skardu road at 10:37 a.m. on May 16 in the Sasi area.
However, there was no record of the vehicle passing through the Dambodas checkpoint.
The car was eventually located on Friday in a deep gorge near Ganji Padi, a dangerous stretch of the road. Rescue 1122 officials confirmed three bodies were found inside the wreckage and one outside. Local police, rescue teams, and tourist police participated in the recovery effort.
Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Iman Shah confirmed the deaths and expressed condolences to the families.
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