VOA标准英语2012--Search Continues for Victims of Kashmir Avalanche

Search Continues for Victims of Kashmir Avalanche¹

Pakistani soldiers continue to dig, inch-by-inch, in search of 140 colleagues buried under this massive pile of rock. 

Rescuers using sniffer dogs and life-detection equipment have braved blizzard-like conditions and threats of fresh avalanches² to search through the rubble³ and snow.

But two weeks after the calamity⁴ flattened⁵ the Gayari rear base, no victims have been found. Rescuers have not even located evidence of the buried military complex.

Daunting⁶ rescue effort continues

Regional army commander Brigadier Saqib Mehmood Malik is supervising the rescue effort. 

“The mass of snow and ice and rocks that you see here, this is 200 to 250 feet [61-76 meters] above the ground level. So therefore, this effort is of a very, very large magnitude,” said Malik.

Located at an altitude of 4,000 meters, the disaster zone is just a few kilometers away from the Indian outposts on the disputed Siachen Glacier⁷. 

Despite the harsh conditions, Malik refuses to give up the search for the victims. 

“So, being a Muslim I believe that I have hope and I will not let it die, I will not let it die,” he said.

Colonel Saeed Iqbal, a former commander of the flattened Pakistani military base, says the incident has saddened him.

“Here we used to play cricket and very proudly we used to say that this is the world highest cricket ground. And you can see those flags, my office was there and living was there, our mess was there,” said Iqbal.

Calls to demilitarize Siachen Glacier

The latest human tragedy on the world’s highest battleground has once again revived calls for demilitarization of the Siachen Glacier, where Pakistan and India together have suffered less than 1,000 casualties, but extreme weather conditions have caused more than 7,000 deaths.

The human tragedy in the glacial region has revived calls for Pakistan and India to end what many critics describe as a “senseless” conflict over the 78-kilometer long Siachen Glacier.

The standoff began in 1984 when Indian troops occupied positions on the northern tip of the “Line of Control” dividing Kashmir. Pakistan responded by establishing posts on Siachen.

Since then, the 28-year-old conflict has cost billions of dollars and killed more than 8,000 soldiers on both sides, giving it the reputation as the world’s highest, coldest and most expensive battlefield. 

Resistance to end costly⁸ conflict

Army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said despite the financial and human losses, Pakistan will not unilaterally pull out forces from the disputed glacier. 

“Yes, of course, the loss of life is right in front of everyone on both sides, and our position is that we must go back to the 1984 position and then determine what should be the actual line of deployment⁹, but not before that. This is just an actual ground position line which is because these forces are eyeball-to-eyeball,” said Abbas.

While the digging continues for victims, there is hope that the tragedy could push the two sides toward resolving a conflict that many say is the easiest of all the disputes plaguing India and Pakistan.

1 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

2 avalanches   

n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. 雪崩压满了轨道，铁轨被弄得四分五裂。 来自辞典例句

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

5 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

6 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

7 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。