Rescue work: One body removed from landslide debris in Mansehra

30 neighbouring houses vacated for safety of residents

MANSEHRA:

Rescue workers and police on Sunday recovered the body of one of two villagers buried under the debris of Saturday’s landslide which hit houses in Kalas village of Jabar Devli a day prior.

Shinkiari police SHO told the media body of 14-year-old Rafaqat was removed Sunday morning. Bakhtawar, reportedly a person with physical disabilities, could not be taken out despite hectic efforts. He is not believed to have survived the landslide which buried him and Rafaqat alive.

“Our efforts failed as [six] houses are under a huge mass of earth,” he said. The SHO confirmed 12 goats, five cows and bulls, and three buffaloes died when the landslide destroyed.

When danger calls

To protect the villagers, 30 neighbouring houses have been vacated – their residents were shifted to a safer place with tents, Mansehra district nazim Sardar Said Ghulam told The Express Tribune. Since the houses were constructed beneath the hill, he said, they were vulnerable to damage.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf asked the National Disaster Management Authority to calculate the estimated loss for compensation. He attended the funeral of one of the victims.

Yousuf also directed the Mansehra DC to write to provincial government for restoration of the link road to the affected village.

On Saturday, a landslide destroyed six houses and three persons came under it. One was rescued in an injured
condition by evening.

Avalanche aftermath

The bodies of two more students were recovered from under the mass of snow in Susum valley, Chitral on Sunday. Chitral DPO Asif Iqbal said the deceased were identified as Imran and Umaruddin, residents of Geri village in Parsan valley. The DPO added search for more was under way.

The students and others were buried in the avalanche in Susum a few days back. They were returning to their houses after an examination when they were buried under the mass of the landslide.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th,  2016.