On Wednesday, a 12-year-old girl was found alive after being buried under the avalanche for 18 hours in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
The girl was identified as Samina Bibi. She recalled screaming and shouting for help as she lay trapped in a room under the snow.
According to Pakistani officials, the death toll from Monday’s avalanches in Pakistan’s Neelum Valley, in the Himalayan region disputed by Pakistan and India, rose to 74.
Read: Kashmir avalanche death toll rises to 67, Balochistan to 25
“I thought I would die there,” said Samina.
Samina’s mother has lost a son and another daughter, Samina’s rescue was nothing but a miracle for her.
Samina said she could not sleep and waited to be rescued as soon as possible. Her leg was fractured and blood was coming from her mouth.
For the family, the disaster happened very quickly. “We didn’t hear a rumble,” Shahnaz said, recalling the moments before the avalanche buried the three-storey house.
Samina and her family were sitting around a fire when the avalanche hit. “It happened in the blink of an eye,” said Shahnaz.
