GILGIT Rescuers recovered three more bodies of the landslide victims buried under the boulders in Atabad village of Hunza, raising the death toll to 13, sources in the local administration said. Locals fear more deaths as some people are still missing. The victims, mostly aged women and children, were buried in Aliabad amid tears as thousands of people including politicians, lawmakers, senior civil and military officials attended the funeral.
Speaker Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) Wazir Baig, Member GBLA Mutabiat Shah, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority Maj-Gen Farooq Ahmad, Force Commander Gilgit-Baltistan Maj-Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and others were present on the occasion.
Gen Ahmed said that the victims would be compensated and rehabilitated. He told media that the boulders that had blocked the river would be removed and pledged a helicopter for the region to tackle disasters.
Communication between Gojal, upper Hunza, and rest of the world has been disconnected as the Karakoram Highway has been blocked. Telephone and electricity lines have also been destroyed, said an official of the Water and Power Department.
The water in the blocked Hunza River is advancing towards Gojal tehsil, Shishkat and lower parts of Gulmit.
