Army rescues 22 students stranded in snow-hit Gilgit district
January 20, 2020
The Pakistan Army has rescued 22 students of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) who were stuck in the snow-hit area of Rattu in Gilgit Baltistan's Astore district, the Inter–Services Public Relations said on Monday.
The students had been stranded in the area for the past five days with harsh weather conditions prevailing throughout.
According to the ISPR, the university administration had approached the army after which Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa "directed for their immediate heli-lifting".
The "students had gone for skiing to Gilgit and were stuck there for the last five days due to heavy snow and landslides," the army's media wing said.
Over a hundred dead in snow-related deaths
More than a hundred people have lost their lives due to heavy snowfall and avalanches in various parts of the country.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), around 77 people have died in AJK and 56 injured whereas 202 houses have been damaged due to avalanches in the Neelum district.
Read more: 'I thought I'd die there': AJK avalanche survivor found alive after 18 hours
In Balochistan, 20 casualties were recorded with 23 persons injured, five people have died and 13 injured with a total of 31 houses damaged due to heavy snowfall in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At least two deaths were reported with four injured and three houses damaged in Gilgit-Baltistan.
