34 killed as rain continues to wreak havoc in Fata, KP, AJK

 

MUZAFFARABAD/SADDA/TIMERGARA: Thirty-four people were killed, while several houses, roads and orchards were damaged as torrential rain continued to play havoc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

The AJK State Disaster Management Authority said five members of a family lost their lives and a child sustained injuries when their house was hit by a huge landslide in the Sarli Sacha area of Muzaffarabad. The local people retrieved the bodies on a self-help basis.

A couple and their two children died and four children sustained injuries as the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy rain in Mohalla Tariqabad in Muzaffarabad.

In Haveli district, Abbaspur, five people, including a woman and her daughter, died when the roof of a house collapsed.

Two people were also killed in Road accidents in Muzaffarabad and Neelum valley as the roads became slippery because of rain.

Two dozen houses were damaged, most of them completely, due to landslides. The land routes leading from Bagh to Muzaffarabad and Haveli and Bagh to Rawalpindi have been closed due to landslides.

Meanwhile, three children were killed when the roof of a house collapsed due to heavy rain in the Urmar area of Peshawar.

Four children and their parents died in a roof collapse incident in Gandal in the Para Chamkani area in central Kurram Agency, locals said.

It was learnt that the roof of the house of one Tehmash Khan collapsed due to rain. Six persons, including Tehmash Khan, his wife and four children, were killed in the incident.

The dead were identified as Muhammad Javed, Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Hamza and their sister Fauzia. Tehmash Khan and his wife were also killed.

Later, they were laid to rest at their ancestral graveyard amid touching scenes.

Five members of a family died and two were injured when the roof of a house collapsed at Timer Dherai in Lower Dir district early Saturday.

Timergara police said those killed were identified as Ahmad Wali, 50, head of the family, his two sons Muslim Khan, 13, and Ilyas, 5, daughter Mohsina, 14, and his sister-in-law Malalai, 16, whereas Qasim, 8, and Zillah were injured.

Locals rushed to the site and shifted all the dead and injured people to the District Headquarters Hospital at Timergara for treatment.

The locals demanded the government to compensate the poor family.

In Swabi, a young girl was killed when the roof of a mud-house fell in the limits of Topi Police Station due to continuous rain, the police said.

The house of 16-year-old Bibi Shermila, daughter of Muhammad Zaman, was collapsed that was situated in Solai area of Topi city.

With the latest killing, the number of those killed in the district in the recent rains has reached four, including three girls. Two people were also injured.

A minor boy was killed while his parents sustained injuries in a roof collapse incident in the Tandel area in Malakand Agency, official sources said.

They said the roof of a dilapidated house of one Jamal Shah caved in due to rains. As a result, Jamal Shah, his wife and two-year old son Sohail were trapped under the debris.

The locals and the personnel of the Frontier Constabulary rushed to the spot and retrieved the body of Sohail while rescued Jamal Shah and his wife in an injured condition. The injured were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Batkhela where their condition was stated to be stable.

Four children were injured when a wall of a house collapsed due to torrential rains in Matakhel village of Landikotal tehsil in Khyber Agency, officials said. They said that the wall of the house of one Ibrahim Afridi collapsed, injuring four children.

The children were identified as Abdullah, 8, Safiullah, 8, Azhar, 7 and Muzakkir. The injured children were rushed to Agency Headquarters Hospital in Landikotal where they were provided medical treatment.

Incessant rain for the last couple of days has disrupted routine life in various areas of Shangla district.

Commuters faced problems as the rainwater inundated roads and streets in Bisham city. Schoolchildren and office goers suffered problems as rainwater inundated roads due to the poor drainage system in the city.—Originally published in The News