Bodies of missing youths recovered a day after avalanche hits Naltar village

Published January 19, 2023
Two men make rescue efforts on Thursday to find bodies of two youths after an avalanched engulfed them in Gilgit Baltistan’s Naltar valley on Wednesday evening. — Photo provided by author
Two men make rescue efforts on Thursday to find bodies of two youths after an avalanched engulfed them in Gilgit Baltistan’s Naltar valley on Wednesday evening. — Photo provided by author

Rescue teams recovered on Thursday the bodies of two youths from underneath the snow, a day after an avalanche hit Gilgit-Baltistan’s upper Naltar Valley.

According to Nomal police, the avalanche had hit the valley’s Khayot village, following which the boys — named Zubair and Arif — were reported to be missing.

The police said rescue efforts to find them were hampered during the night due to the darkness. However, local residents continued rescue efforts on their own.

Rescue teams resumed their efforts in the morning and were successful in recovering the bodies of both the victims after a few hours.

Prior to the recovery of the bodies, GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid had directed the local administration and Rescue 1122 to “make every possible effort”. He had also expressed his grief on the incident.

The incident comes almost a week after at least four homes were completely destroyed and 40 were partially damaged in Diamer’s Tangir Valley as a result of two lake outbursts. However, no loss of life was reported as per the officials.

According to locals, an avalanche had suddenly fallen in the Gichhar and Labar lakes, causing the outburst.

Almost all areas in GB have seen intense cold weather throughout the previous week with continuous snowfall and below 0°C temperatures. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the temperature in Astore was -6°C and -5°C in Skardu on the day of the incident.

Opinion

Editorial

IHK resolution
Updated 08 Nov, 2024

IHK resolution

If the BJP administration were to listen to Kashmiris, it could pave the way for the resumption of the political process in IHK.
Climate realities
08 Nov, 2024

Climate realities

THE Air Quality Index in Lahore once again shot past the 1,000-level mark on Wednesday morning, registering at an...
Rule by fear
08 Nov, 2024

Rule by fear

THE abduction of an opposition MNA, as claimed by PTI, is yet another grim episode in Pakistan’s ongoing crisis of...
Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...