In Kashmir: Landslide toll rises to 15, including nine soldiers
Bodies of six more soldiers and six civilians recovered on Saturday.
ISLAMABAD:
The forces of nature inflicted another tragedy on the military in the north.
The death toll from Friday’s landslides along the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)’s Kel area rose to 15 – including nine Pakistani soldiers. Six people are still missing.
A military rescue operation swung into action after heavy snows triggered two landslides at a remote outpost in the Kel area near the Line of Control with India. The initial rescue team, which was dispatched after the first landslide hit the military outpost, was hit by a second landslide.
“Eight soldiers and 10 civilians went to rescue the soldiers at the post, all of the rescuers were buried in the second landslide, so we are searching for the rest of the bodies,” local administration official Raja Saqib Muneer told AFP.
“Three bodies of soldiers were recovered yesterday. The dead bodies of five soldiers including a captain and four civilians have been recovered today (Saturday),” said a statement by the military. A later statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations added that the bodies of another soldier and two more civilians were recovered as well.
Local administration officials said they were searching for more bodies as six people were still missing.
The elements have been harsh to the forces this year.
In Friday’s accident, a wall of mud and snow hit the outpost in the early hours, said Muneer, deputy commissioner of the picturesque Neelam district, of which Kel is a part of.
An 18-member team was quickly dispatched to search for the soldiers at the outpost, which is 130km from Muzaffarabad, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2012.
The forces of nature inflicted another tragedy on the military in the north.
The death toll from Friday’s landslides along the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)’s Kel area rose to 15 – including nine Pakistani soldiers. Six people are still missing.
A military rescue operation swung into action after heavy snows triggered two landslides at a remote outpost in the Kel area near the Line of Control with India. The initial rescue team, which was dispatched after the first landslide hit the military outpost, was hit by a second landslide.
“Eight soldiers and 10 civilians went to rescue the soldiers at the post, all of the rescuers were buried in the second landslide, so we are searching for the rest of the bodies,” local administration official Raja Saqib Muneer told AFP.
“Three bodies of soldiers were recovered yesterday. The dead bodies of five soldiers including a captain and four civilians have been recovered today (Saturday),” said a statement by the military. A later statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations added that the bodies of another soldier and two more civilians were recovered as well.
Local administration officials said they were searching for more bodies as six people were still missing.
The elements have been harsh to the forces this year.
In Friday’s accident, a wall of mud and snow hit the outpost in the early hours, said Muneer, deputy commissioner of the picturesque Neelam district, of which Kel is a part of.
An 18-member team was quickly dispatched to search for the soldiers at the outpost, which is 130km from Muzaffarabad, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2012.