8 labourers die as landslide hits vehicle in Kohistan

MANSEHRA: Eight labourers working on Dassu Hydropower Project were killed after a landslide hit their vehicle in Upper Kohistan early Tuesday. The labourers were on way to Dassu from the dam site through Karakoram Highway when a landslide hit their vehicle, burying them alive. The local people and police rushed to the scene and retrieved the bodies after hectic efforts and shifted them to the Civil Hospital in Dassu. The deceased were identified as Hamat Mir, Sowan, Mohammad Ghani, Mohammad Riaz, Abdul Malik, Muluk Badshah, Saifur Rehman and Shabbir Ahmad. “We have pulled out bodies of all eight victims and handed them over to their respective families,” Abdul Saboor Khan, DPO, Upper Kohistan told reporters. Meanwhile, the people blocked the Karakoram Highway in protest. They offered the funeral prayers of the victims on the KKH, demanding compensation for the bereaved families. “We would not reopen this highway to traffic until Wapda announces compensation for their families,” said a protester. He alleged heavy blasting by Wapda and its contractual Chinese company had triggered the landslide. “The project manager and I tried to convince the protesters to open the highway,” said Saboor Khan.