Students stranded at Siri Paye rescued; more rainfall expected

BALAKOT: At least 300 students of the Khyber Medical University (KMU) and the Comsat University were rescued after they were stranded at Siri Paye in Balakot due to heavy snowfall.

A spokesperson for Rescue 1122 said that they conducted an operation during late hours of Sunday to evacuate the students touring the Siri Paye area of Shogran in Balakot.

The Rescue 1122 spokesperson told media on Monday that the rescue operation was completed late at night on Sunday.

The spokesperson said that rescue personnel, the local administration and the Kaghan Development Authority (KDA) jointly rescued the students after five hours of continuous operation.

The stranded students had gone to Siri Paye for a tour where vehicles got stuck due to sudden snowfall.

MORE SNOW EXPECTED

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Monday that the weather is likely to remain dry and cold in most parts of the country. Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and adjacent hilly areas are expected to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorm at a few places.

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The Met Office has predicted light snowfall predicted for the mountainous regions. It has predicted fog iin the plains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Punjab in the morning hours. Some places in South Punjab and upper Sindh are also likely to be foggy in the morning and night hours, it said.

The PMD said that the weather is likely to be cold and dry in most districts of Particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and extremely cold in the mountainous areas. However, it has forecast rain and snowfall in the mountains areas of Mansehra, Battagaram, Kohistan and Abbottabad. The Met Office has forcast foggy condition in some plain areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the morning hours.

Tourists have been advised to get updates from the PMD and avoid unnecessary travel to areas where snowfall, rain or landslides are expected.