Chitral avalanche rescue mission completed, 10 bodies recovered

CHITRAL: The rescue mission launched after two avalanches in Chitral has been completed today, ARY News reported on Monday.

It should be noted that at least 10 people were killed and several others trapped beneath the heaps of snow after two avalanches in Chitral in the wee hours of Sunday.

During the rescue and relief operation 10 dead bodies including three members of a family and five injured were recovered by the relief workers. The dead bodies included three children, four women and two men in an incident in a village.

Five injured were also retrieved from the massive heaps of snow and admitted at a local clinic for medical attendance.

In another incident of avalanche at Damel near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, seven soldiers of Chitral Scouts were buried under the massive volume of snow at a security check post. A soldier was killed in the incident and remaining were rescued beneath the sheet of snow.

Spokeswoman for the Disaster Management Authority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sheema Ayub Khan, said that the avalanche hit eight homes in a village at around 3:00 am. She added that three people had been rescued from the snow.

Shahab Hameed, a senior administration official in the area, confirmed the death toll, adding that most of the area’s roads had been blocked.

The region has been hit by heavy snowfall that is four feet (1.2 metres) deep at some places. The rescue officials faced difficulties to transport the injured to nearby hospitals due to blockage of roads after heavy snowfall.

Pakistan Army personnel were also called to the site for assistance in rescue operations. An army official said that the weather is now clear and they have provided helicopter for the rescue services.

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