GILGIT: A 70-year-old man was rescued alive after being buried under the snow for over 24 hours in Astore district of Gilgit-Baltistan. Eleven people, including four women and a child, were buried when an avalanche hit a temporary settlement of nomads near Shunter Pass in Astore on Saturday.

Rescue authorities recovered eight dead bodies on Saturday, while the remaining three, including the septuagenarian man, have been found alive.

The 70-year-old Muham­mad Hussain was the last man to be rescued from under the snow. According to Diamer Commissioner Altamash Janjua, 15 injured have been shifted to the District Headqu­arters Hospital in Astore and their condition was said to be stable.

The nomads belonged to Chakwal district of Punjab.

Eight people confirmed dead in Astore tragedy; three recovered alive

The dead bodies have been sent to their native areas for burial.

Rescue teams, including local volunteers, army personnel, district administration and police took part in the rescue operation. The incident happened in a remote area with no road access and cellular coverage. The rescue teams had to walk 20km to arrive at the site.

Officials said the victims were moving towards Astore from Azad Kashmir and had set up camp in the area along with their cattle.

Every year, nomads move with their cattle from Azad Kashmir to Punjab and vice versa. They make their journey towards Punjab to avoid harsh winters in northern areas and return as the weather improves in the mountainous regions.

According to locals, Shunter Pass borders the Azad Kashmir region and nomads from Punjab rem­ain here for months to graze their cattle and then continue their journey onward.

GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid visited the injured at the hospital and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased. The chief minister also directed the hospital administration to provide the best medical care and treatment facilities to the injured.

Mr Khurshid also annou­nced a compensation package on behalf of his government for the families of the deceased and injured.

He has also sought recommendations from the Diamer divisional commissioner and Astore deputy commissioner to prevent such tragedy in future.

The areas of GB and Azad Kashmir are prone to natural disasters including avalanches in which masses of snow, ice, and rocks come rapidly down from mountains. Earlier this year in January, two boys were buried after an avalanche hit the Khayot village in upper Naltar Valley.

The extreme weather events had severed the road connections between the GB region and other parts of the country for weeks.

In October 2020, an Aus­trian climber was killed while another climber and their local guide were seriously injured when they were hit by an avalanche while attempting to climb an unexplored and uncl­imbed peak in the Shimshal Valley of Hunza.

In January of that year, 15 people, including five soldiers, were martyred in several avalanches in the two regions.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2023