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SWAT, Jun 28 (APP):On a bright summer morning, the stunning riverbanks of Swat turned into a site of devastation after its gushing water swept away 18 tourists one after another in a jiffy amid hopelessness.
What began as a peaceful breakfast outing for a group of tourists quickly turned fatal as sudden flash floods swept away 18 lives including women and children while the authorities and locals watched helplessly.
In what is being called one of the deadliest tourist tragedies in Swat’s recent memory, the victims, mostly from Punjab and Mardan, found themselves trapped in rising waters of the Swat River.
Caught without warning, without rescue, and without a chance, they were consumed by the river one after another. Their cries for help echoed unanswered as precious minutes turned to hours.
Eyewitness accounts tell a story not just of nature’s fury, but of official neglect. “It was a disaster waiting to happen,” said Ahmad Khan, who watched in horror from the riverbank. “There were no warning signs, no safety teams, and no one to tell them they were in danger.”
Swat, long hailed as the ‘Switzerland of Pakistan’, has become a summer hotspot for domestic tourists. Yet, the infrastructure to handle this growing influx especially in the face of extreme weather remains critically inadequate.
This failure to anticipate, prepare for, or respond to flooding by the district administration, PDMA and Rescue 1122 has triggered a nationwide outcry.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department had issued warnings of heavy rain and potential flooding across upper Swat. But those warnings seemingly evaporated into bureaucratic silence. No alerts reached the tourists. No visible emergency protocol was triggered.
“The KP Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) didn’t issue a single public warning for the tourists,” claimed Ahmad. “Why were these people allowed near the riverbed at all, especially after the monsoon alert?”
The answers remain buried beneath layers of mismanagement. According to residents and environmental experts, unregulated construction in and around the river often in clear violation of safety norms has narrowed the riverbed, exacerbating flood velocity.
Hotels, houses, and restaurants continue to mushroom dangerously close to the waterline with little or no oversight from authorities.
Criticism of the provincial government, particularly the PTI-led administration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been fierce. Opposition leaders are calling this not just a tragedy, but “manslaughter by incompetence.”
“There’s a difference between a natural disaster and criminal negligence,” said Hamza Khan, PML-N’s President in Nowshera. “The KP government failed at every level—no alerts, no rescue readiness, no access roads, no equipment. And now 18 lives are gone.”
Rescue 1122 and district officials arrived late. With water levels rising rapidly and no proper access routes, locals tried to mount rescue efforts themselves.but were overpowered by the ferocity of the river.
The bodies of majority victims were recovered slowly over a 24-hour period, a grim testament to the poor emergency response system.
Following a national outcry, the provincial government scrambled to assign blame. Chief Minister’s orders led to the suspension of multiple officials, including the Assistant Commissioners of Babuzai and Khwazakhela, the ADC Relief, and the local head of Rescue 1122.
An inquiry committee, led by the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team, has been formed to investigate the incident and identify systemic failures.
Compensation of Rs 1 million per victim has been announced. But for the grieving families, no amount of money can replace what was lost.
“This could’ve been prevented. My brother would still be alive if someone had warned them,” said one bereaved relative near the riverbank, clutching a photograph.
This is not the first time tragedy has struck Swat. In 2022, flash floods devastated the region, killing dozens and displacing thousands. Yet, little has changed. Infrastructure upgrades have been minimal. Emergency response remains sluggish and under-equipped. And the booming tourist economy has continued to outpace investment in safety.
Environmental experts warn that climate change will only intensify such events. Without urgent and systemic reforms including better early warning systems, enforcement against illegal construction, and properly trained emergency services Swat may see more such horrors.
Swat’s rivers, valleys, and mountains draw tourists by the thousands, but if the government fails to act decisively, these natural wonders will become death traps.
This tragedy has cast a long shadow over KP’s vision of tourism-led development. Safety, not just scenery, must be at the core of that vision.
Until then, the River Swat will remain a place not just of beauty.but of sorrow.