Avalanche claims life in Kaghan

MANSEHRA: A man was killed and around two dozen others were rescued after an avalanche struck them in the Jalkhad area of Kaghan Valley on Sunday.“These people had left Shahdara area (AJK) and entered Kaghan Valley via Noori Top following Indian shelling in Azad Kashmir, but one of them, who was buried alive under the avalanche, died,” Shafiullah Khan Gandapur, the District Police Office, told The News.

He said a group of 22 people, mostly traders from different parts of the country, had crossed into Kaghan Valley through the Noori Top area from Azad Jammu and Kashmir when eight of them were trapped under an avalanche in Jalkhad (Kaghan Valley).

“We constituted a rescue team led by DSP Paras Khushal Khan, comprising personnel from the police, Rescue 1122, and the Kaghan Development Authority. They managed to rescue all eight individuals with only minor injuries,” the official said.

He added that two of the injured made their way back to their destinations via the snow-covered Noori Top, while the remaining survivors were shifted to Kaghan.“All 19 rescued individuals, after receiving medical treatment in Naran, have now left for their respective hometowns,” he said. The DPO said the deceased was identified as Gulzada, who had been working in the Shahdara area of AJK.