Girls survive 18 hours buried under Kashmir avalanche
Two girls emerged alive after 18 hours buried under avalanches in Pakistan as the death toll from harsh winter weather increased to more than 100.
Samina Bibi, 12, told rescuers that she thought she would die as she lay trapped under the ruins of her house in Bakwali village in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Another girl, identified as sixyear-old Safia, was found trapped in Seri village with broken bones in her leg and fractures to her skull.
Samina told Reuters she had been ‘‘screaming and shouting for help’’ as she lay in a room under the snow. Her mother, Shahnaz Bibi, said the family had been huddled around a fire in their three-storey house when the avalanche hit.
‘‘We didn’t hear a rumble. It happened in the blink of an eye,’’ she said.
She added that she had given up hope of finding her daughter alive.
Samina suffered a fractured leg and said that blood had been oozing from her mouth.
She said she could not sleep while she waited to be rescued.
Five Pakistan soldiers were reported as among the dead after avalanches swept through the steepsided valleys in Kashmir. Elsewhere, snow and rain showers have caused deadly landslides and flooding. A total of 109 people were reported dead in the cold snap in Pakistan alone.
The five military engineers died when they were hit by an avalanche in the Astore valley in the administrative region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Dawn newspaper reported.
Avalanches have hit both sides of the disputed territory of Kashmir, with Indian troops also killed.
In neighbouring Afghanistan, the cold weather has triggered heavy snow and deadly floods that have collapsed roofs and killed dozens. – Telegraph Group