14 dead in avalanche in northwest Pakistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - At least 14 people, including six children, were killed and several are believed trapped by an avalanche that hit a village in northwestern Pakistan, near the Afghan border, following recent heavy snowfall and rain, officials said.

Maghfirat Shah, mayor of the Chitral district, told reporters that 14 bodies have so far been recovered as rescuers backed by the Pakistan army are looking for an unknown number of villagers believed trapped in the remote Shershal area.

The dead include six children, six women and two men, he added.

The affected town has been getting heavy snowfall for the last three days, forcing hundreds of residents to move to safer places, Shah said, adding that rescue teams are having problems due to continued bad weather. At least 11 people, he said, have been rescued so far, while two injured have been taken to hospital.

In a separate incident, a paramilitary troop was killed and six others injured when a landslide hit an outpost in the Pishotan area of Chitral, said an army spokesman in a statement, adding that army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa had ordered "timely" and "effective" assistance, including helicopters, to civil administration for relief and rescue efforts in snow-hit areas.

Chitral, a famed tourist destination, was badly hit by unexpectedly heavy rains last year that killed scores of people apart from displacing hundreds, a development weather experts blame on climate change.