8 killed as rain, floods wreak havoc in KP, Punjab

MANSEHRA/ CHITRAL/PESHAWAR/LAHORE: Five people were killed, over a dozen injured, houses and roads were washed away after rain-triggered devastation in Mansehra and Chitral districts on Saturday.

“Five people have been killed and over a dozen injured and houses collapsed. And many arteries have been blocked in the district. Our teams are active all around as the fresh rain spell triggered a large-scale devastation,” Hafeezur Rehman, the Mansehra district head of Rescue 1122, told reporters. The heavy rain, which started late Friday night, continued intermittently the next entire day and destroyed many houses and blocked roads.

The house of an Afghan national, Samiullah, collapsed on the Chinar Road in the Thakra area, in the heart of the city, burying six members of his family under the rubble. The Rescue 1122 officials shifted them to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital where doctors pronounced the wife and son of Samiullah dead while the rest were hospitalised.

Ajwa Bibi, 12, and her younger brother Mohammad Umar were buried alive when their house collapsed in the Dehri area of Shinkiari. The locals and Rescue 1122 officials shifted them to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital after retrieving them from the rubble where doctors pronounced Ajwa Bibi dead. The family members of Mohammad Qadeer were also buried alive under the debris when their house collapsed in the Lohar Banda area in the heart of Mansehra city. The locals shifted them to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital where a doctor pronounced Mohammad Hussain, 9, dead while four members of his family were hospitalised.

The rescuers also fished out a body of an unknown man who had drowned in a stream following rains in the Chitta Batta area.

Two pickup vehicles were also washed away in the flood waters in the Dugai stream in Oghi. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of passengers travelling between Oghi and the neighbouring Torghar district were stuck on both sides of the road after an incomplete bridge washed away in last year’s flood.

The houses also collapsed in Safada and other areas in the district. The roads were also blocked in Safada village, Siran Valley, Konsh valley and Kaghan Valley owing to the land and mudslides. The rain, which also hit Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, Kolai-Palas and Torghar districts, continued intermittently the entire next day but no fatality was reported from anywhere.

The flashfloods triggered by torrential rains washed away over half a kilometer of Chitral-Shandur Road, disconnecting the land link between the Lower Chitral and Upper Chitral districts. The floodwater in Chitral River also submerged Gangoreni Hydel Powerhouse and the adjacent residential quarters that damaged the powerhouse in Chitral city.

The floodwater also hit the historic Shahi Qilla and the hotel located in the central part of Chitral city and washed away three trees. Similarly, two houses were destroyed while four others were partially damaged in the Ochusht area in Chitral city while three houses were destroyed in Ayun Town.

Reports pouring in from Kalash and Rambur valleys suggested that four houses and standing crops were destroyed when floodwaters from Rambur Nullah inundated the area.

Deputy Commissioner Chitral Muhammad Ali said that land communication had been disconnected with Upper Chitral.

The district administration has dispatched rescue teams to the affected areas, the DC said.

Garm Chashma and Dineen Road had been opened, he said, adding, the highways of Chitral were flooded but there was no loss of life had been reported.

The meteorological department has also forecasted more heavy rains all across the Hazara division from 22nd July to 26th July.

Meanwhile, two children died while three citizens were injured in rain related incidents in Lahore on Saturday.

According to details, a 12-year-old boy drowned while bathing in rainwater near Babu Sabu in the lmits of Sherakot. A 14-year-old boy drowned in rainwater near Aik Moria Pul, Misri Shah. A citizen was injured when a roof collapsed in Raiwind area. Three people were injured when a wall collapsed in Shahdara area.

In Malakwal, one woman killed and another was injured after the roof of a house collapsed due to rain in Dhol Ranjha on Saturday. According to rescue 1122 sources due to heavy rain the roof of a house collapsed in Dhol Ranjha village. In this incident two women namely Haleema Bibi of 45 years and Seema Bibi 50 years old were buried under the rubble. Rescue 1122 team brought out them from rubble but Haleema breathed her last due to critical injuries. While Seema Bibi was injured seriously and shifted to the hospital where he is being treated.