At least nine members of a family lost their lives on Friday after a powerful snow avalanche buried their home in Chitral, as relentless snowfall and freezing temperatures brought much of northern Pakistan to a standstill.
The incident occurred in Serigal village of the Damil area, where more than 20 inches of snow had accumulated. Officials said a massive sheet of snow slid down from a nearby pasture, crushing the house while the family was inside. A nine-year-old boy survived and was shifted to a hospital.
Heavy snowfall continued for over 36 hours across Upper and Lower Chitral, severely disrupting daily life. Several key roads, including access routes to the Lowari Tunnel, were closed, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Electricity supply was also cut after snowfall damaged the national transmission line at Lowari Top.
Across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rain and snow triggered landslides, blocked roads and caused prolonged power outages. In the Tirah Valley, displaced families returning home were stranded amid snowstorms, prompting rescue operations by emergency services.
Conditions further deteriorated in Gilgit-Baltistan, where fresh snowfall blocked the Karakoram Highway and other major routes. Hundreds of travelers, including women and children, were left stranded for hours in extreme cold. In upper Hunza’s Chipurson Valley, earthquake-affected families living in tents faced acute shortages of food, medicine and heating as temperatures dropped below minus 20°C.
Murree recorded around 15 inches of snowfall, forcing authorities to close the expressway and restrict entry into the hill station. Meanwhile, Quetta experienced the coldest night of the season at minus 13°C, with gas shortages compounding residents’ hardships.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that another weather system will bring more rain and snowfall from Sunday to Tuesday, with temperatures expected to fall further across much of the country.
