Pakistan steps up efforts to find avalanche survivors
Islamabad, Apr 11, 2012, (PTI)
Amidst snowfall and weather hazards, Pakistani rescue teams today stepped up their search for 138 people, a majority of them soldiers, buried under dozens of feet of snow by an avalanche in Siachen sector.
Search and rescue teams using bulldozers and heavy machinery have cleared a 450-metre access track to five "priority points" where the people could be buried, a military statement said.
These priority points were identified by a team from the Strategic Plans Division, an elite nuclear formation equipped with sophisticated gadgets.
The rescue operation at Gyari in Siachen sector was continuing despite "weather hazards", the statement said.
Rescue teams were working on a second access track so that they could widen the search perimeter. Work at two priority points is progressing at "rapid speed" because of the use of heavy machinery.
Work at the three other priority points is "mainly being done" by infantry troops, who are manually digging through the snow, the military said.
A bulldozer was being used to restore a water channel that was blocked by the avalanche four days ago.
The Met Office has forcast snowfall over Siachen and surrounding areas till tomorrow and officials have said they expect the weather to clear by the afternoon of Thursday.
Flights to Skardu, the town closest to Gyari, have been unable to take off due to bad weather.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had to call off his plan to visit Gyari yesterday due to bad weather, officials said.
The premier had intended to visit the region to express solidarity with the troops. He was advised by authorities not to travel due to the inclement weather, officials said.
Gilani has directed authorities to use all available resources to retrieve the soldiers trapped by the avalanche on April 7.
The military has said a total of 138 people, including 127 soldiers and 11 civilian employees, were buried when the avalanche hit a battalion headquarters at Gyari. Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited the site on Sunday to supervise rescue operations.
The headquarters at Gyari is the main gateway through which troops and supplies pass on their way to remote outposts in Siachen.
Indian and Pakistani troops have been engaged in standoff on the glacier since 1984.
However, the guns have largely been silent since late 2003, when the two countries put in place a ceasefire along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Actual Ground Position Line in Siachen.
The Pakistan Army's deployment on the glacier figured in parliament yesterday, with lawmakers from across the political divide seeking an immediate resolution of the Siachen standoff.
The parliamentarians pointed out that more people died of harsh weather than bullets on Siachen.
Speaking on a point of order in a joint session of parliament, Awami National Party leader Haji Muhammad Adeel said during the past three decades, Pakistan and India had lost more lives on Siachen due to extreme weather.
He contended that a Pakistani soldier is killed every third day while India loses a soldier every second day.
Besides, the troop deployments have weakened the foundations of glaciers and this leads to natural disasters like floods, Adeel said.
He suggested that Pakistan and India need to discuss the issue for immediate resolution.
still the situation looks very grim but we can't loose hope....I hope and wish we might see a miracle this time.....Insha-Allah.....
InshaAllah... keep praying brothers and sisters and pls keep texting your F n F for prayers of these brothers !!! We do the fwding thing all the time these days so y not for this noble and badly needed cause !!!
May A good news comes from Allah S.W.T for all of us especially the Families of those who r stuck there !!!
La Illaha Illa anta subhan'a ka inni kuntuu minaz'zaleemeeen!!!
