An avalanche swept through a village in northern Pakistan and 11 people were missing and feared dead a day after 26 people were killed in another avalanche, police said on Monday. The avalanche struck Mongi village in the Chitral region of the Hindu Kush mountains on Sunday night after heavy rain fell across deep snow blanketing the mountains, said senior police officer Ijaz Ahmed. "Several houses have been buried and 11 people are missing. God forbid, but there is very little chance of their survival," Ahmed, told Reuters by telephone from Chitral, 280 km (175 miles) north of the capital, Islamabad.
An avalanche killed at least 26 people in a remote mountain village in the same area on Saturday night. Rescue efforts were hampered by the remote location and a lack of heavy machinery to lift debris, Ahmed said. Many villages have been cut off for days by heavy snow and landslides. Ahmed said the government was sending two helicopters for rescue and relief operations and a C-130 cargo aircraft with supplies. |