A Picturesque Trip Becomes Tragic in Skardu where Four Gujarat Tourists found dead after almost a week in Skardu

In a tragic departure to what had originally been planned to be an adventurous vacation, 4 tourists from Gujarat, had been seen lifeless near the Indus River in Rondo Valley, Skardu on May 24, 2025. The tragic find arrived after a massive weeklong search mission, casting light on the risky nature of tour along the Gilgit-Skardu highway.

Gujarat Tourists Dead After Skardu Car Plunge into Indus River

The Disappearance: Last Contact on May 16

The visitors Waseem Shahzad (36 years old), Umar Ehsan (20 years old), Salman Nasrullah Sindhu (23 years old), and Usman Dar (23 years old) had gone on a picturesque day tour from Gilgit to Skardu on May 15. They had halted a day earlier in Danyor near Karakoram and had started their journey the next day. That was the last time their families heard from them. All 4 cell phones became dead within moments after they picked up their journey on May 16, raising concern and anxiety among their loved ones.

Gujarat Tourists Dead After Skardu Car Plunge into Indus River

Their last known point, as followed using Gilgit-Baltistan police, was Jaglot a common check post along the dangerous mountain road that winds along the Indus River. Without any sign of the vehicle or people for days, hopes were dashed until Saturday’s morbid find.

Discovery in the Depths: five hundred Feet Down in the Rondo Valley

The breakthrough arrived when Rescue 1122 teams dumped the wreckage of the tourists’ vehicle in a deep gorge, roughly five hundred ft below Baltistan Road, near the village of Astak. The vehicle had crashed on the banks of the turbid Indus River, barely out of sight.

It required ropes, cranes, and pure human determination to reach the bottom of how the rescue crews managed to get the car and the bodies of the young men. The land, traversed through steep slopes and loose soil, made attempts at restoration even more risky and complicated.

A Road Marked by repeated Tragedy

The Skardu visitor accident is now no longer a remote event. The Baltistan Road, more specifically the section from Jaglot to Istak, has become notorious for fatal accidents. The roads are narrow, there are blind corners, and threateningly looming is the possibility of landslides. Cars have consistently tumbled into the river along this stretch, however little appears to have been done to improve road protection or mandate prevention.

Rescue teams, who had been scanning relentlessly from Alam Pul to Shangas and Skardu, confessed to the challenging nature of operations in such a dangerous area. Their efforts, though, had been impressive pooling subject talent from around-lodging and residents as well as visual searches the employment of binoculars in distant locations.

Families Left Devastated, Questions Left Unanswered

The disaster has left families in Gujarat broken. These younger males had been looking forward to discovering the beautiful valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan a place increasingly popular among Indian travelers. The final smartphone name of the crew arrived on May 16, and their families had been crying out to the Gilgit-Baltistan government for action ever since.

DIG Gilgit Range, Raja Mirza Hassan, confirmed that their journey was well-documented once until Danyor. What happened thereafter remains a terrifying enigma one perhaps one based on the harsh landscape rather than treachery.

A Call for Safety and Accountability

This crash rekindles urgent questions of infrastructure, signage, and guardrail protocols on one of the country’s most scenic but hazardous roads. While tourism increases in the north, so should the government’s commitment to ensuring safer travel.

Tourism too can bring prosperity, but it should no longer be at the cost of lives. The Skardu tourist accident must be a wake-up call of the authorities, local guides, and tourists alike.

Gujarat Tourists Dead After Skardu Car Plunge into Indus River

A Picturesque Trip Becomes Tragic in Skardu where Four Gujarat Tourists found dead after almost a week in Skardu

The Disappearance: Last Contact on May 16

Discovery in the Depths: five hundred Feet Down in the Rondo Valley

A Road Marked by repeated Tragedy

Families Left Devastated, Questions Left Unanswered

A Call for Safety and Accountability

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