Shounter Avalanche takes 11 lives, injures 13

News Desk

Islamabad: An avalanche, triggered from Shounter Top, at Bakarwal Campsite on Saturday morning washed away the site which was a camp established by herders (nomads), thereby killing 11 people and injuring 13.

Upon receiving the information, concerned authorities have already mobilised local administration, Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority (GBDMA), Rescue-1122, and a team from the Force Command Northern Areas – Headquarters (FCNAHQ) for rescue and recovery operations, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sources said.

The search efforts to evacuate the missing are going on.

The GBDMA report said that the avalanche incident took place on Saturday at 4am. The people of the Bakarwal tribe who were hit by the avalanche were coming from Kashmir towards Astor.

Out of the 11 dead, eight bodies have been recovered and the search is on for the rest. The report stated that out of the injured, 12 are in critical condition.

The injured have been shifted to District Quarter Hospital Astor for treatment. The FCNA’s helicopter service has been obtained for the rescue operation. An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Gilgit, Astor and Skardu.