One Man and Eight Students Buried By Pakistan Avalanche
Chitral, Pakistan – On Saturday, March 19, 2016 a group of school children were hit by an avalanche near the village of Susom in Karimabad, 24 miles north of the mountainous Chitral district in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border. At this point in time the bodies of a child and a man have been recovered and seven more are still buried under the snow.
The avalanche buried nine individuals including a group of ninth graders on Saturday afternoon. Nobody knew about the accident until the students did not return home after exams. Parents notified authorities who began searching for the students.
Authorities, including Pakistan Army and Chitral Scouts have recovered two bodies so far – a man identified as Rehmat and a student identified as Mabushar. The snow was up to 3-feet deep and locals were using spades and shovels to extricate the victims.
Due to the remoteness of the region, no machinery can reach the area and the remaining students are feared dead. Rescue operations have been suspended due to bad weather and heavy rain.
“According to the National Disaster Management Authority, heavy rains have killed at least 79 people, injured 101 others and damaged 240 houses since March 9 across Pakistan.” (PakistanHerald.com)
Read more about the avalanche in Pakistan from these sources:
- PakistanHerald.com
- Samma.tv
- Nation.com.pk
- PakObserver.net
- DailyMail.co.uk
- AAJ.tv
