Rescue operation for the search of students entrapped under avalanche in Chitral continued on the eighth day.
Survival chances of the seven people feared buried under an avalanche were diminishing. The disaster struck on March19 afternoon near the village of Susom, some 40 kilometres (24 miles) north of the town of Chitral in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A massive avalanche fell on a group of school children returning home after taking exams. Bodies of a school boy and a local man were recovered from the snow on Sunday, while rescuers have not been able to find the remaining seven pupils who were missing.
“Bodies of a pupil and a passer-by have been found so far and now there is very little hope for survival among those who are still buried under the avalanche,” a local government official Mazhar Ali Shah told AFP.
The personnel of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) special team, Chitral Scouts, police, levies and residents are participating in the rescue operation. The teams are digging in the snow with spades and shovels to find the victims. Earlier, the general officer commanding of Malakand division reached the spot and pledged to give radar and heavy machinery to facilitate the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, heavy rains have killed at least 121 people, injured 124 and damaged 852 houses since March 9 across Pakistan, according to NDMA. Most fatalities were caused by landslides and collapsed roofs.
