Eight killed as landslide hits damaged water channel in Gilgit

At least eight volunteers were killed and several others feared trapped when a landslide hit a flood-damaged water channel in Gilgit's Danyor Nullah during repair work, police said on Monday.

The volunteers were restoring the channel when a mass of earth collapsed, burying them under debris, said police.

Hospital sources confirmed all the dead were members of a local volunteer team, while three others were injured.

As the search goes on for more survivors, the authorities have declared an emergency at local hospitals.

A provincial government spokesperson said accelerated glacial melt, driven by climate change, had increased water flow in several streams.

Read: Climate-driven erosion cuts Karakoram Highway in Upper Hunza

The Shishper glacier recently flooded, damaging farmland and closing part of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) towards Hunza. Traffic was being diverted via Nagar Road.

Officials have warned of further rains and landslides in the region.

A significant stretch of the KKH in Upper Hunza’s Morkhun area was destroyed by river erosion, severing the overland link between Pakistan and China, the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government said.

"River erosion remains a key contributor to highway blockages in the region," a cryosphere expert told The Express Tribune. "Although disruptions on the KKH are not unusual, the current intensity of river swelling and the scale of damage are significantly higher."

Read more: Over 110 dead since late June as monsoon rains wreak havoc in Pakistan

G-B government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq confirmed that the increased river flow led to the erosion of a section of the KKH, rendering it impassable.

Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan has directed the immediate restoration of the highway.

Earlier, authorities warned of possible flooding in local streams and nullahs in Dera Ghazi Khan, northeastern and upper Punjab, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, northeastern Balochistan, Kashmir, Chitral, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Murree, Galiyat, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Swabi, Nowshera, and Mardan.

There is also a high risk of landslides in K-P’s hilly areas, Murree, Galiyat, Kashmir and G-B, potentially disrupting road networks and communications.