Eight labourers killed as van buried in Kohistan landslide

Efforts underway to recover remaining four labourers still trapped under the rubble at Karakoram Highway

ISLAMABAD/ KOHISTAN: At least eight labourers were killed and several others went missing after a passenger van got buried by a landslide at Karakoram Highway in Kohistan district.

The landslide completely buried the van late Monday night, and the rescue operation started early Tuesday morning by authorities and volunteers.

Police said that the van was carrying about 12 labourers of Dasu Hydro Power project, who were on their way home from work.

Rescue teams recovered eight bodies after digging through the piles of mud and rock manually, and efforts were underway to rescue the remaining people by removing the debris with heavy machinery summoned at the site by the rescue officials.

Police said that the landslide was caused by heavy rains and snowfall that hit the area last week.

The Karakoram Highway was closed for traffic following the accident, blocking Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's road link with Gilgit-Baltistan.

This was the second road blockage in the area over the last week.

Bodies were handed over to the victims’ families after completion of legal formalities at hospital.

The labourers belonged to Jalkot area and were identified as Hujjat Meer, Soon Zar, Muhammad Ghani, Azam Riaz, Abdul Malik, Malook Shah, Saifur Rehman and Shabeer Ahmed.