🇵🇰 Ice Melt in Gilgit-Baltistan Reveals 28-Year-Old Tragedy
CHILAS — In a haunting reminder of how climate change is uncovering long-buried secrets, the body of Naseer Uddin, who vanished during a snowstorm in 1997, has been discovered on a melting glacier in the Supat Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The remains were found by local trekker Umar Khan in the Lady Meadows area of Palas, Kohistan. A national identity card in the pocket confirmed the identity after nearly three decades.
“He likely fell into a crevasse during a snowstorm and never made it out,” said DPO Amjad Hussain.
Umar Khan, who initially buried the body temporarily to preserve it, later located the family and informed them of the tragic discovery.
Naseer Uddin was traveling with his family through the remote valley to escape a family feud when he disappeared. His body remained remarkably preserved, frozen in time — until glacier melt caused by rising temperatures revealed it.
In a separate tragedy in Pakistan’s north, Laura Dahlmeier, a German Olympic and World Champion biathlete, has died following a landslide while climbing in Baltistan.
According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Laura was caught in the landslide along with another German climber in Shigar district. While one survived, Laura’s injuries proved fatal.
Her body was retrieved by a rescue team. A helicopter will transport her remains once the team reaches base camp.
Faizullah Faraq, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson, confirmed the incident, describing it as a “devastating loss.”
From glacier melt exposing forgotten remains to deadly climbs claiming elite athletes, the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges continue to be landscapes of both unimaginable beauty and brutal truth.