Melting Glacier Reveals Body Missing for 28 Years
Man Preserved in Ice Found in Pakistan’s Kohistan Region
A remote Pakistani glacier, succumbing to rising temperatures, has yielded a chilling discovery: the remarkably preserved body of a man who vanished nearly three decades ago. The find offers a stark reminder of climate change’s tangible impact on even the most isolated landscapes.
A Shepherd’s Gruesome Find
The remains were uncovered by a shepherd in the Lady Valley of Kohistan. According to reports, the body was found in an astonishing state of preservation, with clothing still intact.
Omar Khan, the shepherd who made the discovery, described the scene to BBC Urdu: What I saw was incredible. The body was intact. They had not even broken the clothes.
Identity Confirmed: A 1997 Disappearance
An identification document found near the body confirmed the man as Naseruddin. Authorities believe he disappeared in 1997 during a snowstorm after falling into a crevasse within a glacier.
Local accounts reveal Naseruddin, who had a wife and two children, was traveling on horseback with his brother, Kathiruddin, when the incident occurred. His brother recounted that Naseruddin entered a cave and never emerged. Despite extensive searches at the time, no trace of him was found for almost 30 years.
Climate Change’s Toll on Glaciers
This discovery underscores the accelerating impact of climate change. Reduced snowfall in the region has increasingly exposed glaciers to solar radiation, intensifying melting rates.
Muhammad Bilal, head of Environmental Sciences at COMSATS University of Islamabad, explained that the glacier’s conditions were responsible for the body’s preservation. The extreme cold freezes it quickly. The lack of oxygen combined with moisture can cause it to be mummified rapidly.
The phenomenon of human remains emerging from melting ice is becoming more frequent globally. For instance, in 2014, a body preserved for decades in a melting Austrian glacier was identified as a skier who vanished in 1955, highlighting a trend linked to global warming (BBC News, 2014).
