Girl lost in 2005 earthquake reunites with family after 17 years

HATTIAN BALA: In what could be said a miracle, a girl from Azad Kashmir, who went missing after the deadly earthquake in 2005, reunited with her family after 17 years.

Sania, who hails from Hattian Bala in Azad Kashmir, was seven years old when she was separated from her family on October 8, 2005.

The devastating earthquake left nearly 100,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, besides destroying basic infrastructure.

The earthquake left a trail of death and destruction, primarily in Azad Kashmir and the Hazara division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The quake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, dislocated over 3.5 million people.

Sania was given up for adoption by someone who thought that she was an orphan. A couple in Karachi, who did not have any children, adopted her.

She was raised by them and then later got married. Sania, along with her husband and three kids, decided to find her hometown and family after 17 years.

"I remembered a little about where I used to live. When I got off the wagon, I got confused about the paths because a lot has changed now in the city and there are many houses here now," said Sania said while speaking with Geo News.

Sania's mother expressed her happiness over seeing her daughter after so long. "Thanks to Allah, I found my daughter after 17 years. We had no hope left on if she was alive or had disappeared," she said.