GILGIT: At least seven people were killed and one was injured when a landslide hit them in Darel subdivision of Diamer district on Wednesday.

The road was blocked by landslip near Phog­uch village on Tuesday night.

According to witnesses, some 15 to 20 passengers travelling from Darel Valley to Chilas were hit by another landslide when they were removing the debris to clear the way.

Authorities said that seven people were buried beneath the landslide while others managed to escape. A large number of locals then rushed to the spot to rescue the victims. One injured was taken to the district headquarters hospital but was later shifted to Gilgit due to his critical condition.

According to a statement issued by Gilgit-Baltistan Information Secretary Fida Hussain, more than seven persons were hit by the landslide in the village and were buried beneath it. The Gilgit-Baltistan scouts, disaster management authority, public works depa­rtment and Rescue 1122 immediately launched a rescue operation which was led by the Darel assistant commissioner.

The Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, Faizullah Firaq, confirmed to Dawn that seven people had died in the incident, adding that three others were still missing.

Imtiaz Alam, an eyewitness, said landslides were frequent in the area. Debris fell on Darel Road due to water leakage from a channel built along the road, he added.

Earlier, residents had deman­ded that the Gilgit-Baltistan authorities repair the water channel as it posed a threat to the link road. How­ever, Mr Alam regretted that the works department did not take notice of the issue. He said Darel Road was in a dilapidated condition and a project to repair it had been awarded to a contractor several years ago. But road work had not been started so far with the result that the people had to clear the road on their own, he added. The administration had no machinery to keep the road clear of debris, he said.

Meanwhile, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafee­zur Rehman said the government was making all-out efforts to rescue the victims.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2018