Authorities rescue 250 tourists after floods wash away roads leading to Pakistan’s Kumrat Valley

PESHAWAR: Authorities have rescued nearly 250 tourists who were stranded in Kumrat Valley after flash floods triggered by heavy rains washed away roads and bridges in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, official said on Saturday.
Kumrat Valley is a popular tourist destination in the Upper Dir district of KP which has reported 88 deaths in rain-related incidents since July 1, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The main road leading to Kumrat Valley had been washed away at Barikot, cutting it off from the rest of the province, while three bridges connecting Makrala and Thal areas were also swept away by floods.
Hundreds of tourists were left stranded in various parts of Kumrat Valley due to the floods who have all been evacuated to safety, according to KP Tourism Authority spokesman Saad bin Awais.
“Of them, 250 have been rescued who have left for their homes, while the rest have been shifted to hotels where they are being provided with free services,” he told Arab News. “All of the tourists were Pakistanis.”
Kumrat Valley is widely popular among local and foreign tourists because of its snow-clad mountains, green pastures and dense forests, according to the official. A total of 2,604,312 tourists, including 533 foreigners, visited the valley from September 2023 to August 2024.
Pakistan’s tourism industry generated $2.5 billion of revenue in 2022 and the figure was expected to go up to $4 billion in the next four years, according to the Pakistan Tourism Department Corporation (PTDC).
Bilal Faizi, a Rescue 1122 spokesperson, said two rescue teams had been dispatched to Kumrat and Barikot areas to rescue the tourists stuck in the region.
“We have also set up a medical camp in Barikot and are providing aid to the injured and sick,” he said, adding that four passenger buses had been sent in to the Upper Dir to transport the tourists to their respective areas.
Awais said continuous downpours, followed by floods, severely hampered rescue operations, saying that local residents, Rescue 1122, police and civil defense personnel were making all-out efforts to reopen the roads.
“The roads closed due to landslides will take almost two days to reopen,” he shared. “Heavy machinery is also being used to remove obstacles from roads in Kumrat Valley, but incessant rains are hampering the efforts.”
A day before, a mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain hit a house in Upper Dir, killing 12 people of a family, according to authorities.