Chitral

PK-661 Crashes in Havelian with 47 People on board

PK-661, a small ATR aircraft operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has crashed near Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. According to PIA, 47 people were on board including 5 crew members. Earlier, the aircraft went missing from the radar, later locals reported the crash in Karpal village near Havelian.

Published

2 years ago

December 7, 2016

Imran Ahmed Hunzai

Pictures of deceased passengers and crew were displayed at candlelight vigil in memory of crashed PK-661 flight.

Updates:

PIA’s emergency response center can be contacted at 0092-21-99044890, 0092-21-99044376 and 0092-21-99044394.

5:27 PM:

Statement by PIA:

We regret to inform that PIA’s ATR-42 aircraft operating as PK-661, carrying around 40 persons lost its contact with control tower on its way from Chitral to Islamabad a short while ago. All resources are being mobilised to locate the aircraft. PIA’s emergency response center has been activated and can be accessed at following phone numbers for updates: 0092-21-99044890, 0092-21-99044376 and 0092-21-99044394.

5:15 PM:

According to GEO News, pop singer turned religious scholar, Junaid Jamshed, was also on board along with his wife.

5: 22 PM:

DC Chitral Osama Waraich was also on board with his family.

6:04 PM:

List of on-board passengers has been issued by PIA.

6:22 PM:

Images of the site where PK-661 crashed

Images of crashed #PK661 near #Havelian. #JunaidJamshed and DCO #Chitral were also on board.
Live Updates: https://t.co/wPiGmaBeKY pic.twitter.com/2fY9AYgBVb
— GBee News (@GBeeNews) December 7, 2016

6:31 PM

Jumma Khan, an eyewitness of the incident, speaks to Dawn News:

“The bodies we have taken out are not intact. They are beyond recognition. We cannot tell women from men… they are just legs and arms.”

9:15 PM:

According to a PIA official, the black box has been recovered by Pakistan Army.

9:55 PM:

Images of crew members released by PIA.

10:00 PM:

Chairman PIA will appear in a press conference at 11:00 PM PST.

Read this article in Urdu

Imran Ahmed Hunzai

Imran Hunzai is a Digital Media Consultant and activist based in Islamabad, Pakistan. When free, he likes to travel, do photography and play Rabab. He also runs a HONY inspired blog called Humans of Hunza. Follow him of Twitter @ihunzai.

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Astore

Introducing #GBCProspers – Stories from Gilgit, Baltistan and Chitral

Published

3 months ago

January 19, 2019

Imran Ahmed Hunzai

Introducing #GBCProspers - Stories from Gilgit, Baltistan and Chitral

Every day when we wake up, we struggle hard to make a name for ourselves, our families and our country. We see a handful of names in the limelight while hundreds and thousands of names remain in an obscurity no matter how big or small that person’s contribution to the society is.

At GBee, we believe that a society cannot prosper without the small yet meaningful contributions of its members.

This is why, we are announcing the launch of an on-going campaign which we are now officially calling #GBCProspers. This campaign aims to celebrate the contributions, small and big, by the common citizens that collectively reflect in the social, cultural, religious, musical and economic prosperity of the mountain communities.

How to access the stories?

The stories published under #GBCProspers campaign can be found on a dedicated topic section. Each story will also be published in its relevant district page on Facebook and GBee’s Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Alternatively, you can search for the hashtag #GBCProspers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get the latest as well as the stories published in the past.

How to submit a story?

Stories can be submitted at our email editor[at]gbee.pk with #GBCProspers in the subject, on our WhatsApp number +923555075849 or directly at your relevant district page on Facebook.

Chitral

Four including two brothers killed in an avalanche in Drosh, Chitral

Published

6 months ago

November 4, 2018

GBee Staff

File Photo via Pamir Times

At least four people have been killed in an avalanche in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s largest district of Chitral. According to Khursheed Alam, the Deputy Commissioner Chitral, four dead bodies have been recovered. The avalanche occurred at around 3:00 AM on Sunday in Gorin Gol, an area in Shishikoh union council of Drosh, Chitral.

Abdul Wali Khan, the Assistant Commissioner Drosh, personally participated in the efforts for recoveries of bodies. Chitral Levies, local police, 1122 personnel, and community volunteers were engaged to recover the dead bodies. The rescue officials faced difficulties in transporting the injured to nearby hospitals due to blockage of roads. Pakistan Army had provided a helicopter for the rescue of the injured.

Earlier, Rescue 1122 personnel and volunteers rushed to the Shishikoh after over a dozen people went missing following a snow avalanche. Drosh region of Chitral received heavy snowfall since last Tuesday.

DC Chitral said in a press release that people were trapped beneath a thick mass of snow after the avalanche hit a village in Shishikoh’s Gorin Gol area.

The avalanche hit eight homes at around 3:00 AM said Sheema Ayub Khan, a spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Disaster Management Authority (KPDMA).

She added that three people have been rescued from the snow while at least three more were still trapped.

At least 10 people have been safely evacuated who were trapped under the avalanche.

The dead have been recognized as Momin s/o Khaista Khan, Amirzada s/o Khaista Khan, Saad Malook s/o Bahadur and Usman s/o Gul Mohammad.