MUZAFFARABAD/GILGIT: At least five people were killed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Monday in different rain-related incidents as monsoon-induced floods ravaged multiple areas in the Ghizer district of GilgitBaltistan, blocking roads and destroying infrastructure.

In Neelum Valley, a vehicle with tourists on board skidded off the `slippery road` and plummeted almost 250 feet down the ravine.

Three people were killed on the spot, while the fourth succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.

Neelum Deputy Commissioner Nadeem Ahmed Janjua said a Karachi-based couple along with their two-year-old daughter who survived the accident and a helper were coming back from Taobutt when they met the accident near Shundaas.

As a result, Zeeshan Shahid, 38, his wife Anmol Haroon, 32, driver Farooq, 35, and helper Atif died. The couple had travelled to Kel in their car but had rented the jeep for their trip to Taobutt. District Disaster Management Officer Akhtar Ayoub told Dawn that the couple`s funerals had been held and their bodies as well as the child and the car were being sent to Islamabad to be handed over to the family members, arriving there from Karachi.

University teacher swept away In another incident, a faculty member at the University of Poonch, Dr Gul-i-Lala, 32, was swept away after she tried to cross a swollen stream in her Suzuki Cultus.

According to Registrar Dr Abdul Rauf, DrLala had left the Shamsabad campus after delivering a one-hour lecture in the morning and was heading home via Hajira Road.

Eyewitnesses said she was advised to turn back because a torrent was flowing across the road, whereupon she opted for an alternative route on the outskirts of Rawalakot. However, while attempting to cross a culvert where water from an otherwise small stream was rushing over the road, the accident occurred.

Her vehicle, swept away by the water, was retrieved about a hundred feet down the stream, but she did not survive.

Meanwhile, Poonch DC Sardar Umar Farooq told Dawn that rescue teams also evacuated 18 female students from a hostel whose ground floor had been submerged. Five residents trapped in their homes along Hajira Road were also rescued.

In the same district, three men collecting firewood in Karmal village of Rajdhani were stranded on a dry patch in the middle of River Poonch. However, they were rescued.

A flash flood in a water channel in Dhaman Pakhonar village of Sudhnoti district washed away four houses, two suspension bridges, and one RCC bridge, said Deputy Commissioner Mumtaz Kazmi. There were no casualties as the residents had already vacated their homes, but they were unable to save their belongings, he added. The DC said the road leading to the village had also been destroyed at several points, but machinery would be deployed to reopen it.

Flash floods in GB As water shortages and electricity outages continued in Gilgit, Danyor, and other floodhit areas, flash floods damaged infrastructure in Asumber, Hatoon, and Ishkoman valleys inGhizer. According to the local administration, the Government Boys High School in Asumber was affected, while in Hatoon, the flood blocked the Ghizer River near the Hasis village. The flood damaged the Ishkoman Road at various places, while a house was affected in Dilnati Ponyal.

On the other hand, the increasing water level in the Ghizer River forced the residents living near its banks to move to safer areas.

The Ghizer-Chitral Road remained closed due to the flood in the Gulapur area. The residents and affected people in Daen village remained disconnected as the only bridge linking the area to the rest of the region was recently damaged. Similarly, the flood-affected areas in Ghizer, Ghanche, Skardu, Astore, Hunza and Diamer remained marooned.

The Karakoram Highway (KKH) in GulmitGojal in Hunza was opened to traffic, as was the Hoper Valley road in Nagar. The traffic on the Baltistan Highway and Naltar Highway remained suspended, but people managed to cross the blocked roads in cases of emergency.

GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said Ghizer was the most-affected district as the mountainous region faced one of the worst floods that had killed 39 people, including tourists, since July. These disasters have caused damage to the tune of Rs30 billion, he added.

`At least two dozen people have been injured so far; 35 small and large bridges have been washed away; a dozen mosques and `Jamaat Khanas` have been damaged, and more than half a dozen buildings of educational institutions have been damaged,` he said. About 350 houses were completely destroyed and at least 600 houses had sustained partial damage, he added.