ISLAMABAD: At least 10 people have lost their lives while 26 others were injured on Saturday when a snow avalanche hit the Astore district of Gilgit Baltistan (GB), revealed by officials from GB. Media reports stated that the deceased included three women.
According to Deputy Inspector General of Police for Diamer-Astore Division, Tufail Mir, the incident occurred in the early hours of the day, and relief and rescue workers were rushed to the spot soon after the incident. He added that a control room had been set up in the district to monitor and expedite operations and rescue and recover people trapped under the snow.
Meanwhile, army helicopters and a team of doctors, ambulance, rescue, and relief teams have reached the spot to provide all possible assistance to recover people trapped under the debris.
GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan expressed deep sorrow over the precious loss of human lives in the tragic incident and directed local authorities to initiate rescue operations.
It is worth mentioning here that the Himalayan region, particularly the Gilgit-Baltistan and Siachen, have experienced scores of avalanches and landslides in the recent past. In 2010 a landslide killed twenty people and blocked the flow of the Hunza River for several months, followed by the formation of a new lake called Attabad Lake.
Reasons Behind Avalanche in GB
On 7th April 2012, Giyari Sector near Siachen possibly witnessed the worst-ever avalanche, where 129 soldiers and 11 civilians were trapped under the deep snow. After over a month of rescue and relief exercise, the operation was stopped, and the deceased was declared martyred.
Meanwhile, according to the Global Climax Index Report 2019, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal were the most affected nations in the world, where the disastrous storms, extreme weather, severe cold, heat, and flooding caused huge human and infrastructure losses worth millions of dollars.
Pakistan Needs International Support to Fight Climate Change
Environmental experts term the recent global warming, deforestation, and the emission of carbon as one of the major contributions and have stressed the international community, particularly the developing world, to address the issue on a war footing.
