GILGIT: A Pakistani labourer and Chinese engineer were killed in a landslide in Hunza valley early Tuesday morning.
The deceased were working at a tunnel being constructed by a Chinese company, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), to re-establish road links between Gojal and other parts of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The accident occurred around 7am, said Hunza-Nagar district Assistant Commissioner Rahman Shah.
Pakistani labourer Zohaib Nazeer was a resident of Ganish, a small town near Attabad. The engineer was identified as Chang Tan Qiang Chun. Another local, who was also there at the time of the incident, escaped unhurt.
This was the second fatal accident at the tunnel. Earlier in March, a labourer was killed and three others, including two Chinese engineers, were injured in a landslide.
While the G-B government is working on the formalities of sending Chang’s body, Nazeer’s relatives have demanded financial compensation. “We have been approached by relatives for compensation,” said Shah, adding they will be contacting CBRC to request for financial aid for the family.
The tunnel is on a spillway from Attabad to Gojal and was constructed as an alternative to the Karakoram Highway, part of which was submerged when a landslide formed a lake (Attabad lake) on the Hunza River in 2010. More than 19 people were killed in the landslide, which was the most deadly to date.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2013.