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2 more survivors airlifted

B. Muralidhar Reddy

After great persuasion from the local authorities that the life of the elder Tandon could be at risk without immediate medical attention, the family agreed to be evacuated.

ISLAMABAD: Two more survivors from Jammu and Kashmir, who were in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) at the time of Saturday's earthquake, were airlifted here on Thursday by a rescue helicopter of the Pakistan Air Force.

Both the survivors have suffered multiple fractures and have been admitted to a private hospital. Jagdish Lal Tandon and his two sons, Shubash Tandon and Masti Ram Tandon, were passengers of the October 6 Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus.

They were on a visit to their ancestral home. The joy proved short-lived as Masti Ram, one of the sons of Jagdish Lal, died in the debris of the house collapse brought about by the quake.

What is worse, the body has not been recovered so far. The trauma of leaving behind their loved one besides the ordeal they have suffered in the last six days was evident in their face.

The elder Tandon was in a better shape physically but the terrible experience has numbed his senses. He greeted the reporters with folded hands and asked them not to pose any question. "I am grateful for the concern you have all shown towards us. But please don't ask me any questions," he pleaded at the hospital.

The Tandons initially refused to leave PoK without the body of Masti Ram. After great persuasion from the local authorities that the life of the elder Tandon could be at risk without immediate medical attention, they agreed to be evacuated.

The father and the son were to have arrived here on Wednesday along with five other Indians who were on a visit to PoK on the same Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus. The authorities located the seven Indians and brought them to the helipad at Ghari Dopatta, near Muzaffarabad on Wednesday.

But there was such a scramble among the relatives of the injured in the area that in the melee between them and the authorities, the rescue helicopter had to be leave without the Tandons.

The five Sikhs, who had arrived here on Wednesday, left for India on Thursday by road through the Wagah border after staying overnight in the Pakistan capital.

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