GILGIT: Four tourists from Gujrat who went missing in Gilgit-Baltistan on May 16 were finally located on Saturday morning at the bank of Indus River near Astak village in Skardu`s Roundu valley.

Rescue 1122, Skardu, and tourists police team retrieved the bodies from about 500 feet deep gorge through ropes.

Family sources said Wasif Shahzad, 36, Umar Ehsan, 20 both cousins from Kot Gakka near Mangowal Salman Nasrullah Sandhu, 23, from Jassoki village and Usman Dar, 23, from Saroki, had arrived in Gilgit on May 13.

Gilgit Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Raja Mirza Hassan said the four friends had started their travel from Hunza to Skardu on May 15. On the way, they had stayed at a hotel near Karakoram at Danyor in Gilgit. Since May 16 their mobile phones could not be reached.

Skardu Deputy Commissioner Arif Ahmad confirmed that the location of the missing tourists` vehicle has been traced near Satak Nala, adding it had fallen into a deep gorge on the bank of the river below the Baltistan Highway after an accident.

A relative of the deceased was also taken to the accident site.

According to DIG Hassan, the last traced location of the missing friends was Jaglot town in Gilgit.

He said that their whereaboutscould not be traced by search teams till Saturday.

An official of Rescue 1122 told Dawn that the car which was travelling to Skardu fell down in a deep ditch.

Local police were busy searching for the missing tourists when this morning a white vehicle was spottedin a gorge on the bank of the river near Ganji Padi off the Baltistan Highway.

Astak Station House Officer (SHO) Ali Faro called the rescue team to the scene.

A joint team of police and rescue descended the site through ropes and recovered bodies, which were firstshifted to a nearby hospital and later handed over to the relatives.

The bodies have been dispatched to Gujrat, where the heirs are waiting for their arrival.

Family sources said that the bodies are expected to arrive in the native areas by Sunday morning (today).

A large number of heirs and locals gathered at the houses of the deceased men on Saturday.

Abdul Rauf, a cousin of two deceased, told Dawn that the all four had started their journey on May 12 and after visiting Hunza Valley, they stayed for a night in Danyor near Gilgit on May 15 from where they started the journey towards Skardu next morning on May 16.

Then, they lost contact with the families as their phones were switched off.

He said the administration of Gilgit Baltistan, Rescue 1122, police and Alkhidmat Foundation had worked hard to search the missing tourists.

He further said that the announcement of the funeral prayers and burial of the victims would be made once the bodies are arrived.

It to be mentioned here that many incidents happen on Baltistan road due to the difficult terrain, particularly from Gilgit`s Jaglot to Skardu`s Istak area, where vehicles fall into Indus River.

Waseem Ashraf Butt in Gujrat also contributed to this report