Avalanche kills four people in Chitral

CHITRAL: At least four people have been killed in an avalanche in Drosh district of Chitral on Sunday, ARY News reported.

Chitral’s Deputy Commissioner Khursheed Alam has confirmed that four people died in the avalanche.

He said the people were trapped beneath a thick mass of snow after the avalanche hit a village in the area.

The DC further said that a rescue operation in the area had been completed and all the four bodies had been recovered.

Read More: Ten killed as avalanche hits Chitral village

At least 10 people had been killed and several others trapped beneath thick snow after two avalanches crashed into a village in Chitral on February 05, last year.

According to rescue sources, disaster struck the village of Shershal in Chitral, with four women and four children among the dead.

The avalanche hit eight homes at around 3am, said Sheema Ayub Khan, a spokeswoman for the Disaster Management Authority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

She said three people had been rescued from the snow while at least three more were still trapped.

The region has been hit by heavy snowfall that is four feet (1.2 metres) deep in some places. Shahab Hameed, a senior administration official in the area, confirmed the death toll, adding that most of the area’s roads had been blocked.

It is learnt that at least 10 people had been safely evacuated trapped under the snow. The rescue officials are facing difficulties in transporting the injured to nearby hospitals due to blockage of roads after heavy snowfall.

The personnel of the army personnel were also called to the site for rescue operations. A army official said that the weather is now clear and they have provided helicopter for rescue services.

Heavy snowfall and rain also prompted closure of the Karakoram Highway at many points thus hampering relief activities by the locals.