Over 100 dead in Kashmir avalanches, many more still buried under snow

This appeared in The Millennial Source

More than 24 hours of heavy snowfall and rain have triggered a series of avalanches and landslides in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 100 people.

“The severe snowfalls and landslides in AJK [Azad Jammu and Kashmir] have caused misery & deaths. I have asked the NDMA [National Disaster Management Authority], the military & all our federal ministers to immediately provide all humanitarian assistance on an emergency footing to the affected people in AJK,” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted after visiting the region.

Among the fatalities, 41 died in a single avalanche in the Neelum Valley in the northernmost district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Local authorities say that many are still buried under the snow with the death toll expected to rise. A 12-year-old girl was found alive after being buried under snow for 18 hours following an avalanche.

Rescue efforts hampered by snowfall

Ahmad Raza Qadri, minister for the disaster management authority in Kashmir, said they had declared a state of emergency in the affected areas on January 14. “Rescuers are facing difficulties in reaching the stricken villages,” he said.