Rescue teams recovered on Thursday the bodies of two youths from underneath the snow, a day after an avalanche hit Gilgit-Baltistan’s upper Naltar Valley.

According to Nomal police, the avalanche had hit the valley’s Khayot village, following which the boys — named Zubair and Arif — were reported to be missing.

The police said rescue efforts to find them were hampered during the night due to the darkness. However, local residents continued rescue efforts on their own.

Rescue teams resumed their efforts in the morning and were successful in recovering the bodies of both the victims after a few hours.

Prior to the recovery of the bodies, GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid had directed the local administration and Rescue 1122 to “make every possible effort”. He had also expressed his grief on the incident.

The incident comes almost a week after at least four homes were completely destroyed and 40 were partially damaged in Diamer’s Tangir Valley as a result of two lake outbursts. However, no loss of life was reported as per the officials.

According to locals, an avalanche had suddenly fallen in the Gichhar and Labar lakes, causing the outburst.

Almost all areas in GB have seen intense cold weather throughout the previous week with continuous snowfall and below 0°C temperatures. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the temperature in Astore was -6°C and -5°C in Skardu on the day of the incident.