Rescue teams in northern Pakistan expanded their search Friday using heavy machinery to locate at least a dozen tourists who went missing earlier this week after being swept away by flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon, officials said.

In the affected area, broken roads, scattered boulders and thick layers of mud highlight the destruction caused by a powerful flash flood that cut off the north from the rest of the country.

On Friday, Gulbar Khan, the chief minister in Gilgit-Baltistan, told reporters that efforts were underway to repair damaged roads.

“The government is also making efforts to search for the missing tourists and to recover the people, whether dead or alive,” he said

Since Monday, emergency crews have recovered the bodies of eight tourists and a resident whose vehicles were buried under the rubble while traveling to the scenic Chilas and Skardu districts in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, said Faizullah Faraq, a government spokesperson.

At least 12 missing tourists are believed to be buried under a massive pile of boulders and mud along a damaged stretch of highway in the mountainous north, Faraq said.

Pakistan has experienced 82% more rainfall this month compared to the same period in July 2024.

According to Pakistan's Meteorological Department, this month's flash floods in the north were caused by cloudbursts and glacial melting — both worsened by climate change.

The above-average rainfall is raising concerns of a repeat of the devastating 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and killed 1,737 people.

Production by Muhammad Farooq