Search and rescue operations for the Governor of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), Alisher Mirzonabot, and four other people who were in a vehicle that plunged into the Panj River on June 17 are continuing for a third consecutive day, Tajikistan’s Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan said on June 19.
Orif Nozimiyon, a spokesman for the Emergencies Committee, told Asia-Plus that rescuers are continuing search efforts in the Shamsiddin-Shohin district of Khatlon province, where the river flows after passing through GBAO’s Darvoz district.
According to him, rescue teams are conducting searches both on the water surface and underwater.
The Committee said the operation is being carried out under the direct supervision of the Emergencies Committee Chairman Rajabali Rahmonali, while field operations are led by Colonel Izzat Qurbonzoda of the Specialized Search and Rescue Service.
A total of 26 rescuers have reportedly been deployed to the operation, including personnel from emergency response units in GBAO, the Kulob region, and the Specialized Search and Rescue Service.
“The search and rescue operation is ongoing. Additional information will be provided as new details become available,” Nozimiyon said.
Five people were in the vehicle
According to the Committee for Emergency Situations, five people were traveling in the vehicle at the time of the accident:
- Alisher Mirzonabot, Governor of GBAO;
- Amina Amonulloyeva, 46, his wife;
- Arifa Mirzonabotzoda, 2, his daughter;
- Sadonsho Janobilshoyev, 37, an aide to the governor;
- Sino Muborakshoyev, 42, the driver.
Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the accident occurred at approximately 10:40 a.m. on June 17 on the 282nd kilometer of the Dushanbe–Kulob–Khorog highway, between the villages of Zighar and Yakhchisor in Darvoz district.
According to the ministry, the official vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser 200, left the roadway and fell into the Panj River while carrying Mirzonabot, his aide, his wife, and their young child.
Authorities have not yet announced the cause of the accident. Search operations remain ongoing.
