Heavy snowfall and rain on Friday left a large number of passengers, tourists, vehicles and cargo containers stranded at Khunjerab Pass, the crossing on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan. Police said snow was still falling on the road, and that accumulated snow had made travel hazardous.
Containers skid and the road stays uncleared
Three containers reportedly skidded off the Karakoram Highway (KKH), the main road link in the region, after the surface turned slippery. Their drivers were rescued. Police also said a Chinese container had overturned on the snow-covered road, and that local travellers and personnel of the Khunjerab Security Police pulled the driver out. He was not hurt.
Police said heavy snowfall was continuing between Dhee Headquarters and Khunjerab Top. Several vehicles and dozens of containers carrying imported goods from China were held up for hours. Stranded passengers complained that the government and relevant organisations had not yet started clearing the road for traffic.
Minister seeks faster snow clearing
Gilgit-Baltistan's Minister for Tourism, Naiknaam Karim, was himself among the stranded passengers. In a video message, he said snow had also fallen on the Chinese side, where the road had been cleared. On the Pakistani side, however, the road at Khunjerab Top was covered with about four inches of snow and ice, and two to three cars were among the vehicles that had skidded.
He said the road had still not been cleared and appealed to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to send machinery at once to prevent more accidents. He also voiced concern about the lack of facilities and machinery to clear snow on the Pakistani side. Stranded travellers said the altitude, which is over 15,000 feet, added risks, including the danger of oxygen shortage.
Separately, the Ghizer-Shandur Road was completely closed to all traffic after a landslide at Hopper Pari, following heavy rain on Thursday night.
What travellers have been advised to do
Police advised tourists and travellers to avoid unnecessary journeys and not to head towards Khunjerab until weather and road conditions improve. Motorists were asked to call the police helpline at 15 before setting out to get the latest information on road conditions. Police also asked people to avoid unnecessary travel during heavy snowfall.
At the time of the reports, the road had not been cleared for traffic, and the stranded passengers were still waiting at the pass.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Khunjerab Pass par barfbari ki wajah se bohat se musafir, sayyah aur containers phans gaye hain. Teen containers phisal gaye aur ek Chinese container palat gaya, lekin drivers ko bacha liya gaya. Gilgit-Baltistan ke wazir Naiknaam Karim ne FWO se fori tor par mashinen bhejne ki appeal ki hai. Agar aap is raste par safar ka soch rahe hain, to pehle police helpline 15 par taaza maloomat le lein.
