Bodies of four missing Gujrat tourists found after car crash in Gilgit-Baltistan

After nearly a week of intense search operations, the bodies of four young tourists from Punjab’s Gujrat district, who had gone missing in Gilgit-Baltistan, were  discovered near the Astak Nallah along the Gilgit-Skardu Road.

The ill-fated vehicle, a white Honda Civic (registration number 805-ANE), was found lying on the riverbank, badly damaged from what appears to have been a fatal accident in the mountainous Ganji Pari area.

Local police confirmed that the bodies of all four missing men, Suleman, Wasif Shahzad, Umar Ehsan, and Usman, were visible at the site, and efforts are currently underway to retrieve them.

The youths had arrived in Gilgit and Hunza for tourism a few days prior and were last contacted on the night of May 15, when they left from the Danyor area in Gilgit for Skardu.

According to their families, they departed for Skardu early on May 16. Since then, all four had been untraceable, with their mobile phones switched off and no contact made with friends or relatives.

The disappearance had triggered a widespread search by the Gilgit-Baltistan Police, Rescue 1122, and local administration, with all check posts and law enforcement units along the Gilgit-Skardu route alerted.

Despite days of rigorous search operations, no clues emerged until the discovery near Astak Nallah.

Police sources indicated that no record of the vehicle passing through key checkpoints like Dambod had been found, raising earlier suspicions of a possible accident in a remote or difficult-to-access area.

The families of the victims had made heartfelt appeals to the public and authorities, including the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, to help trace the missing boys.

Residents of the area were also urged to report any sightings of the vehicle.