Naran-Kaghan road partially opened after snowfall wreaks havoc

ISLAMABAD: Heavy rain and the earliest snowfall in 40 years have wreaked havoc in upper parts of the Hazara region as thousands of tourists were stranded in over two feet of snow in the scenic northern areas of Naran and Kaghan.

On the instructions of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Army rescue teams including doctors have arrived in Naran while hundreds of tourists trapped on Batakundi-Naran road were rescued after Frontier Works Organization (FWO) dozers cleared the route from Batakundi to Naran and led the convoy of earlier stranded vehicles to Naran.

FWO teams were busy on Sunday clearing up roads inside Naran city where tourists were facing hardships owing to shortage of supplies. It was earlier reported that taking advantage of the situation, hotels and retailers raised prices of accommodations and food items.

"After hectic efforts of army engineers and rescue troops, the main road from Naran to Kaghan has been partially opened. First convoy of 70 stranded vehicles has been moved this morning from Naran to Kaghan," the military's public relations wing ISPR said later on Monday.

"More than 200 army troops including engineers, doctors and rescue teams are carrying out rescue operation in Naran. 500 blankets, eatables and water distributed by army. Since night 200 vehicles have been evacuated. 2 helicopters stand by waiting for weather clearance," said the ISPR in a statement

Meanwhile, Matiullah Khan, president of a local hotels association, claimed that accommodations were being provided for free to the stranded tourists.

The fresh spell of snowfall had started yesterday afternoon, also trapping several vehicles on the roads.

The first snow does not usually hit Pakistan's northern areas until early December, with officials saying this was the earliest recorded snowfall in 40 years.

Tourists complained on Sunday that the local administration was nowhere to be seen and no arrangements were made to clear the roads of snow. They said they were running out of food items among other vital equipment needed in such harsh weather.

According to the assistant commissioner Balakot, heavy machinery and personnel of the National Highway Authority (NHA) have been dispatched to reopen about 85 kilometers blocked portion of the 220-km long Shahrah-e-Kaghan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also took notice of the situation and directed the federal government to extend all possible assistance to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in this regard.


At least 11 killed in rain-related incidents

At least 11 persons were killed in separate rain-related incidents in different parts of the country on Sunday. The first heavy rain of the winter season started in upper parts of Hazara on Saturday and continued intermittently on Sunday.

Fifteen labourers, who were excavating ruby from a mine in a mountainous and remote area of Kaghan, came under an avalanche. The local people and police after hectic efforts of several hours recovered 14 labourers alive and one dead. The 14 labourers recovered were slightly injured but are stable, said District Police Officer Najeebur Rehman.

Parts of Pakistan receive fresh spell of rains, snowfall

The weather turned pleasant Sunday morning as Islamabad, Lahore, Multan and several other cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces received rainfall the previous night.

Meanwhile, the mountainous areas of Gilgit and Chitral received snowfall causing the mercury to dip.

Different parts of Lahore and surrounding areas received light rain with thunder and lightning in some areas late Saturday, while light continued on Sunday.

According to the Met office, 3.5 millimeters of rain have so far been recorded in Multan, with temperatures falling from 32 degree Celsius to a chilly 19 degrees.

Peshawar and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also been receiving heavy to light rainfall on Sunday.