Assistant Commissioner Kohistan Kayal Saqib says bad weather caused delay in the rescue operation to save five men stuck in Kohistan flood, KP.
A video of five men standing on the rock between gushing river emerged on social media. It was reported that the men could have been rescued only through helicopter. PTI Chairman Imran Khan was accused of engaging the KP government helicopter for his own use; he was held responsible for the deaths of these men in Kohistan. Four of the five men later died. Imran Khan was condemned on social media throughout the day following the incident. PTI had denied the rumors that Imran Khan hindered the rescue operations.
AC Saqib said that rescue efforts were immediately started as soon as they received the report at 9.45am. Within fifteen minutes, rescue teams had set off. He further added that men were stuck for two and half hours and not four hours.
Read more: PTI rejects allegations blaming Imran Khan for deaths in Kohistan
Since all the seven bridges leading to the location were damaged, there was absolutely no other way to rescue them. The team faced difficulty reaching the location.“It was not humanly possible to move ahead; still we tried and while we were on our way, at 11:30 am, we received information that four of the five men had been swept away,” the official said.
Saqib said he personally sent the request for the helicopter to save men in the official Whatsapp group at 11.00 am after it was informed that no other way was possible to rescue them, Geo News quoted him as saying.
Authorities had turned down the request due to the continuous downpour at the time, which would have made it difficult for the helicopter in the rescue mission.
Local residents also confirmed the claims of a government official of bad weather and damaged roads in Kohistan.