Shishper glacier’s water sweeps away Chinese-built strategic bridge on Karakoram Highway in PoK

In a major development in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a strategicbridge on Karakoram Highway has been swept away by Shishper glacier’s water on Saturday, media reports said.

Located in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, the Hassanabad bridge was reportedly built by China, a report said. There were no casualties in the incident, as per authorities.

This comes as Pakistan has been facing numerous issues like financial crisis, political tussle, etc.

The incident led to commotion among tourists, who had visited the area.

The persistent heatwave seems to have led to the melting of the Shishper glacier near Mount Shishpar. This resulted in floods which took the bridge down, reported Independent, a news outlet.

The videos of the incident, which were shared on social media, displayed torrents of water crashing into the bridge, leading to its immediate collapse.

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The traffic was diverted to other alternate routes. Big trucks were also prohibited by local authorities.

The floods also submerged agricultural land, residences, etc. Two hydroelectric projects were also destroyed by the water.

A temporary bridge will be constructed to restore traffic flow disrupted by the floods, local officials said.

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(With inputs from agencies)