At least 15 people were killed after an avalanche hit Pakistan’s Chitral district on Sunday, Dawn reported. The bodies of six women, six children and two men were pulled out of the debris in the Sher Shal area, Chitral Scouts Commandant Colonel Nizamuddin Shah said. A Frontier Constabulary soldier was among those killed and six other military personnel were injured as the avalanche hit a scout post in the area, Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations said.
At least 25 houses were buried, and five houses were completely destroyed, Shah added. Another nine civilians who were injured were taken to civil hospital Garam Chashma, Radio Pakistan reported.
Over the past two days, several families had been shifted to safer locations following a heavy snowfall. However, some families had remained in the locality and were hit by the avalanche on Sunday, an army personnel said.
Heavy snowfall led to blocked roads, which affected evacuation efforts. The Frontier Constabulary rescued 108 stranded travellers and shifted them to Noshki with the help of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the ISPR added. Some soldiers had been rescued on Sunday morning from areas affected by heavy snow, it said.
On January 27, 20 soldiers were killed after avalanches hit Army camps in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gurez sector.
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