At least nine members of a family were killed when a snow avalanche buried their house in Chitral, as heavy snowfall, avalanches and landslides brought life to a standstill across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, blocking roads, stranding travellers and disrupting electricity and relief operations amid freezing temperatures.
The avalanche struck a house in Serigal village of the Damil area in the extreme south of the district afternoon. Lower Chitral Deputy Commissioner Hashim Azim said the bodies were recovered from the debris, while a nine-year-old boy survived and was rushed to hospital.
Officials said the avalanche was triggered after the area received over 20 inches of snowfall, with a huge mass of snow sliding down from a nearby pasture and hitting the isolated house in the sparsely populated mountainous village.
The deceased were identified as Bacha Khan, his wife, three sons, two daughters and two daughters-in-law. They were reportedly dining in the central room of the house when the avalanche struck.
Snowfall continued uninterrupted for more than 36 hours across the Chitral valley, from Arandu to Broghil, severely disrupting daily life. Vehicular traffic was suspended on several roads, including the approach road to the Lowari Tunnel, where thousands of passengers remained stranded for around 18 hours before traffic was restored on Friday evening after snow clearance.
Several roads in Upper and Lower Chitral remain closed due to heavy snowfall. Electricity supply was also disrupted after snowfall at Lowari Top severed the national transmission line connecting Chitral.
