CHITRAL, Dec 3: A driver was rescued from snow 16 hours after his pick-up was buried by an avalanche on Lowari Top on Saturday.

A journalist who was crossing the area in a coach at the time told Dawn that there were three people on the vehicle hit by the avalanche. He said two of them fell off the vehicle, while the driver, Naeemuddin, was buried in the snow.

The witness said three passenger coaches had reached the top at the time but their passengers could not begin rescue work because of the harsh weather conditions. He said most of them went back to Dir Khas, while some managed to cross over and reach Chitral.

Rescuers from Chitral found Naeemuddin alive in the vehicle 16 hours after the incident. The Lowari pass, the only land route between Chitral and the rest of the country, has been closed.