Last 10 stranded families rescued from Naran Valley

MANSEHRA:

Rescue workers came to the aid of the last ten families trapped in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Naran Valley following a severe snowstorm — the precursor to a powerful earthquake that struck a day later..

“The last stranded families were rescued around 4pm and provided necessary facilities to descend the hilly area and go back home,” Deputy Commissioner Mansehra Amir Khatak told reporters on Monday.



However, he said that the injured mine workers of Behsar avalanche are still stranded at the Behsar police post as the area was heavily covered with snow and the rescue team could not reach there.

On Sunday morning an avalanche hit the base camp of mine workers in remote hilly area of Behsar village, killing two and injuring 15.

“Since the snowfall has stopped and weather is almost clear these injured mine workers will be shifted to Mansehra by Tuesday morning,” the deputy commissioner said.



The injured were shifted on foot by police to the Behsar post but could not be taken to Mansehra as it was way too far and needed almost a 3-hour walk, he added.



Amir Khatak said that the district administration had sent an SOS message to the interior department for sending helicopter but owing to bad weather the chopper service could not be provided.

Talking to The Express Tribune Shahnawaz Asim, a senior lawyer, said that due to shortage of food he and several other tourists had exhausted as hotels were running out of edibles. “We used boiled potatoes during the last 24 hours,” he added.



The military troops with heavy machinery and medical team helped clear the road between Kaghan and Naran highway.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2015.