At least 14 killed in avalanche in north Pakistan

At least 14 people were killed in an avalanche that buried five homes following heavy snowfall in a remote area in north Pakistan’s Chitral district on Sunday.

Chitral Scouts Commandant Col Nizamuddin Shah said that bodies of 14 people have been taken out from the rubble. Six women, six children and two men are among those killed.

Five houses were totally buried under the avalanche. It is unclear how many people have been affected by the avalanche as yet.

Citing Chitral district Nazim Maghfirat Shah, Dawn said that due to heavy snowfall in the area over the past two days several families had been shifted to safer locations.

Shah, however, said some families had remained in the locality affected by the avalanche.

Chitral is part of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and is located in north part of the province on the border with Afghanistan.