Pakistan, which has been facing the worst-ever financial crisis, is currently facing incessant rains for the past week. This resulted in the death of at least 14 people in the past two days. According to local media reports, as many as eight tourists went missing over the weekend after their jeep fell into a river in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (PoK).
Later, despite launching a massive search operation, police said it failed to track bodies. Subsequently, the tourists were declared dead.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been facing major flak from the citizens amid the deteriorating condition of the country, ordered authorities to remain alert to handle any situation.
The incident happened on Sunday in Neelam Valley, a district in the disputed Himalayan region, which is divided between Pakistan and India but claimed by both in its entirety, a local police official Khalid Aziz said.
He said initially one tourist was killed and five others were injured in the incident, while later police learned that eight tourists were missing and there was no hope of finding them alive, as the fast-flowing river swept them away.
PM issues a rain alert
At least 14 people, including nine tourists who died in PoK, have been killed since Saturday when heavy rains started lashing various parts of the country.
Besides, four people were killed in various rain-related incidents in the southwestern Baluchistan province, while a boy was killed in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.
It prompted Prime Minister to issue an alert, asking disaster management authorities to remain vigilant to ensure the safety of the people.
He also asked the highway authorities to remain alert, after landslides triggered by rains briefly blocked some roads over the weekend.
Nearly 1800 were killed in floods last year
Rains are likely to continue this week across the country. It has added problems to the lives of scores of those who were badly affected by last summer's devastating floods that killed 1,739 people and affected 33 million others.
The floods triggered by monsoon rains last year also caused USD 30 billion in damages to Pakistan's economy.
