Passenger boat stuck in the frozen Attabad Lake has been rescued, says Police
Our Correspondent
Gulmit, January 19: Police sources have confirmed that a boat stuck in the frozen Hunza River, aka Attabad Lake, has been rescued with the help of a raft operated by the Chinese workers busy in construction of tunnels in the region.
“A boat carrying passengers was stuck in the frozen river which is now being taken to the Attabad spillway”, the police official requesting anonymity told Pamir Times on phone.
He also said that boats will not be allowed to operate in the river today because it is frozen and the risks of more such incidents in high.
Earlier, national TV channels had broadcast reports in which the news of 40 passengers being stuck had been highlighted spreading panic.
Police sources have also said that when the ice is thick the boat operators break it and carry the boats forward slowly as a routine. However, they said, the lake can freeze completely at a narrow passage towards the Southern end of Attabad, where it is relatively colder because the winter sun rays do not reach that part of the river. They have expressed fear that the lake may complete freeze in a day or two, blocking all boat traffic in and out of the valley.
