By Zahirud Din
CHITRAL: Four people lost their lives on Saturday when a group of shepherds was hit by an avalanche in the Guren Gol pasture of the Sheshi Koh valley. The men were on their way to the mountains to bring back their goats to their village.
Iqbal Karim, Drosh’s Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), told Chitral Times that survivors managed to make their way to the village late on Saturday night after walking five hours at a stretch.
The rescue operation, he said, was not launched until Sunday morning when a contingent of police officials was dispatched to the area.
The police said that Rescue 1122 personnel later joined the search as well and following an eight-hour-long process of digging in the snow, the team managed to recover three bodies. The dead were identified as Momin Khan, Saad Maluk and Usman Khan.
The SDPO said that the body of one Amirzada Khan could not be found. The search will resume on Monday.
The three other bodies were taken back to Drosh, which the police said will take five hours on foot, but two in a motor vehicle.
Locals said since this year snowfall had struck the pasture earlier than usual, villagers had to go to the mountains to bring their goats back to safety. But unfortunately tragedy was waiting for them.
The avalanche was the first of its kind in the area.
