Karakoram Highway blocked for all types of traffic after massive flash flood

Gilgit: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s Karakoram Highway (KKH) has been blocked for all types of traffic due to a massive flash flood at Uchaar Nullah which washed away the temporary Compact 200 bridge.

“KKH is two-way blocked for all types of traffic due to a massive flash flood at Uchaar Nullah which washed away the temporary Compact 200 bridge. Mudflow is still continuing and has not stopped at this site. NHA and FWO (Frontier Works Organization), teams have been mobilized at the site for restoration of traffic link,” a government announcement said.

It added: “Travelers planning to move ahead of Dassu from and to Gilgit and other areas, are requested to use alternate route via Kaghan and Babusar Pass for both ways of traffic . Commuters are requested to check the latest information on KKH before travelling.”

The Karakoram Highway, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is a 1,300 kilometers national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab province of Pakistan to the Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan, where it crosses into China and becomes China National Highway 314.

The highway connects the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plus Gilgit-Baltistan with China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The highway is a popular tourist attraction and is one of the highest paved roads in the world, passing through the Karakoram mountain range, at 36°51′00″N 75°25′40″E at maximum elevation of 4,714 metres (15,466 ft) near Khunjerab Pass.

Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions under which it was constructed, it is often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The highway is also a part of the Asian Highway AH4.