ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (KUNA) -- At least 137 people lost their lives while 14 others sustained injuries in rain-related incidents in various districts of Pakistanآ’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, Gilgit and Kashmir region, said authorities on Friday.
The administrative chief of the district, Deputy Commissioner Kashif Qayum Khan in a statement to media confirmed that 78 people had lost their lives while several others are missing in Buner district of KPK.
The KPK government said a provincial government rescue helicopter had reached Buner to evacuate people to safe areas.
At least 18 people lost their lives while eight others received injuries due to recent flash floods in Bajaur tribal district of KPK bordering Afghanistan.
The flash flood was triggered due to a cloudburst in Salarzai tehsilآ’s Jabrarai village. Another 15 people, including two women and a child, were killed in Battagram district and 16 others went missing after torrential rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in the districtآ’s Neel Band area.
Moreover, five people were killed and four were wounded in Lower Dir district; four deaths were reported in Swat district; while one casualty and two injuries were recorded in Shangla district. The injured were shifted to the nearest medical facilities.
A search and rescue operation was underway under the supervision of local authorities which has managed to rescue over 30 people from different districts of the province.
Meanwhile, a massive landslide in Sarli Sacha village of Muzaffarabad district in Pakistan administered Kashmir region hit a home, leaving six members of a family buried and dead. Torrential rains claimed the lives of two more women in Kashmirآ’s Bagh and Sudhnoti districts.
At least eight people were killed and two others are missing in the Ghizer district of northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif directed the relevant authorities to accelerate the rescue operation in Battagram district.
In a statement, he expressed grief over the deaths and prayed for those who lost their lives in the flash flood. The National Disaster Management Authority has confirmed the killing of 325 people, including 142 children, and injuring of 743 others since June 26 in flash floods and torrential rains across Pakistan. (end) sbk.rk