GILGIT/ PESHAWAR:
Heavy downpours in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral regions triggered landslides and avalanches that claimed at least nine lives on Tuesday.
In G-B, landslide hit Qurqulti village in the Ghizer valley, around 150 kilometres from Gilgit, burying over 10 houses under tons of mud, an official of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society told The Express Tribune.
“The incident occurred sometime around dawn on Tuesday,” he said, adding that local volunteers have pulled out some of the bodies from underneath the rubble.
Shafiq, a resident of Yaseen Valley, said that the authorities had forewarned villagers to relocate in case of heavy downpours due to the vulnerable location of the village.
Senior district administration official Shuja Alam said that landslides had blocked various routes in Ghizer valley, adding that the government was trying to reach out to the affected people.
According to the meteorological department, the heavy downpour started on Monday evening and would continue till Tuesday night. Over 33milimeter rain has been recorded in Gilgit, thus far.
The rain spell has cut off valleys in G-B from the capital town of Gilgit as landslides have blocked roads. Gilgit-Rawalpindi road has also been blocked, suspending traffic on the Karakoram Highway.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was not spared the nature’s fury. At least five women were killed when an avalanche struck a remote village in Chitral on Tuesday.
A police official told The Express Tribune that the incident took place in Waht village, some 15 kilometres from Garam Chashma, the headquarters of Lotkuh tehsil at around 9:00am. The official went on to add that at least five women were killed in the incident.
The victims belonged to the same family, and were identified as Rashida Bibi, her three daughters: Syeda, Zarina and Naiba and another member of the family Shaihda. Rashida’s husband was not at home when the incident took place. Personnel of the Chitral Scouts and police retrieved the bodies after hours of rescue effort.
In another incident, an avalanche destroyed a bridge in Tau area of Mastuj Tehsil in upper Chitral, severing road links in the remote area. There were reports of two other incidents of house collapse across the district; however, no casualties were reported. Heavy rainfall has been lashing Chitral district for the past three days bringing life to a standstill.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2012.
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