The official car of the Governor of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), Alisher Mirzonabot, in which he himself, his wife, child, and driver were present, fell into a river in the Yakhchi Sor area of GBAO’s Darvoz district while returning from Dushanbe to GBAO’s capital, Khorog.

At least four independent sources reported to Asia-Plus that the incident occurred on June 17. According to them, the car fell into the river when Mirzonabot was returning from Dushanbe to GBAO.

According to the sources, approximately 10 minutes after falling into the river, the car disappeared from view. The search for it is ongoing.

“Rescuers and representatives of the country’s government are currently at the scene,” one of the sources told Asia-Plus.

Official bodies have not yet confirmed or denied this information. The GBAO government stated that they do not have information about the incident. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that they will provide a comment after receiving information.

Meanwhile, an informed source in the authorities confirmed to Asia-Plus that the car of the GBAO governor fell into the river. According to him, this happened at approximately 1:00 PM, and the car, in which Mirzonabot and his family were, fell into the Panj River.

Mirzonabot, who also serves as Deputy Chairman of the Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament), had attended a session of the Majlisi Milli in Dushanbe on June 16.

Alisher Mirzonabot, 46, has headed the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region since 2021. Prior to that, he served as mayor of Khorog and, until 2018, as deputy head of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS). Alisher Mirzonabot is originally from the Rushan district of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.

The country’s authorities have not yet issued any official statement regarding the incident