Thousands stranded after Naran, Kaghan snowfall

MANSEHRA: Heavy rain and snowfall wreaked havoc in upper parts of Hazara as thousands of tourists were stranded in Naran and Kaghan on Sunday.
At least 11 persons were killed in separate rain-related incidents in different parts of the country.The first heavy rain of the winter season started in upper parts of Hazara on Saturday and continued intermittently on Sunday.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak called Deputy Commissioner Mansehra Amar Khattak and instructed him to expedite the operation in the valley for the early clearing of roads to rescue the stranded tourists.
Fifteen labourers, who were excavating ruby from a mine in a mountainous and remote area of Kaghan, came under an avalanche. The local people and police after hectic efforts of several hours recovered 14 labourers alive and one dead. The 14 labourers recovered were slightly injured but are stable, stated District Police Officer Najeebur Rehman.
Thousands of tourists were stranded in Kaghan after a heavy snowfall and landslides blocked the Kaghan-Battakundi section of Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road.“We have moved heavy machinery to remove snowfall and landslides from the road and cleared Naran-Jalkhad section for traffic,” said Deputy Commissioner Aamir Khattak.
“The chief minister also offered a helicopter which would be used to airlift stranded tourists from the valley,” he said. The upper parts of Hazara remained under heavy rain on Sunday and link roads were blocked causing inconvenience to people. The rain and snowfall in mountainous areas also caused severe cold in the division.
Agencies add: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on directive of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arranged four helicopters to airlift the tourists from Naran and Mansehra areas who had been stranded owing to heavy snowfall.
The prime minister directed the NDMA to coordinate with the provincial government for evacuation of stranded tourists, said a PM House statement. The NDMA would start the evacuation operation as severe weather subsides. The prime minister has further directed all relevant federal departments to coordinate with the KP government.
Earlier, the federal government offered its assistance to the provincial government of KP to ensure rescue of the stranded tourists. In this regard, federal secretary interior has contacted chief secretary KP for offering the assistance.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) has already started work on removing snow off the roads.The travellers coming from Babu Sir Top to Naran, Kaghan have been asked to leave their cars there and locate shelter nearby till the situation improves.
Meanwhile, lightning killed eight people, including three children, on Saturday in Loralai, Sibi and Dera Ghazi Khan, while three other children were injured in these incidents, as widespread thundershowers hit Punjab, Balochistan, KP and Gilgit Baltistan on Saturday and Sunday.Upper reaches of GB and KP also received light to heavy snowfall.
According to reports, in Dera Ghazi Khan’s suburb area Pagan, lightning claimed lives of at least two people and injured another. One youth died in Loralai’s area of B and R Colony while two labourers died in Daki as lightning struck upon a coalmine.
On the other hand, lightning fell on a house in Waam Tangi area of Harnai, near Sibi, and killed three children on the spot while critically injuring three others.
In Sialkot, a woman and a two-year-old girl were killed when the roof of their mud house caved in during rain at Malkey Kalan village in Muradpur police limits.
Kausar Batool and her relatives, including two-year-old Guriya, were present in the house when its roof collapsed during rain. As a result, Kausar and Guriya were killed on the spot while 38-year-old Ismail and an eight-year-old girl sustained injuries. They were shifted to a local hospital by Rescue 1122.
Meanwhile, the downpour in Islamabad and Rawalpindi has paralysed flight operations at Benazir Bhutto International Airport resulting in cancellation of as many as 17 flights, both domestic and international.
Thousands of passengers were stuck in Islamabad because of cancellation of flights due to weather related circumstances. Reportedly, the heavy rain reduced the visibility to extremely below the required level. At least 12 more flights were facing delay because of this reason.