Two persons buried under avalanche remain untraced

DIR: The two people buried by an avalanche at Lowari Top in Upper Dir district could not be recovered even after five days as the rescue operation continued for their recovery on Monday.

A Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) employee, Nooruddin, and his son, residents of Nagar village, were buried under the avalanche at Lowari Top Thursday afternoon when they were going to repair a telecommunication tower.

However, Nooruddin's son-in-law succeeded in escaping from the avalanche. About 30 personnel of the Rescue 1122, police and Levies and more than 200 local volunteers are taking part in the rescue operation to recover the missing father and son.

The relatives of the victims complained that heavy machinery had not been moved yet to the site and the rescue operation was conducted with spades through which the recovering of the missing people was impossible.

The rescuers also admitted that the operation with spades and other light instruments could not be effective and heavy machinery was needed for the operation. Police sources said that a sniffer dog was brought from Peshawar to help identify the exact location, but it had been sent back without any success.

Assistant Commissioner Sher Qadir said that they had immediately moved the police and Levies personnel towards the avalanche site. He said the district administration was taking each and every possible step for the recovery of the victims. He, however, said that they could not give timeframe for the recovery. The commissioner and DIG Malakand division also visited the site and met the relatives of the buried people. He directed the district administration to expedite recovery efforts.