Over their heads: At least four more dead as house collapses

Over 50 people have been killed in rain-related incidents across the province since March 11

PESHAWAR:

At least four labourers were killed and two others were injured in Maskeenabad, Nothia when an under-construction house collapsed.

This was the fourth incident in the area after the massive earthquake in October 2015, residents and workers told The Express Tribune. However, there are more than a dozen such buildings in the locality that are either cracked or weakened by the continuous rainfall in Peshawar.

Five hours of hell

According to Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Bilal Faizi, two of the injured were pulled from the rubble with the help of heavy machinery. They were identified as Navid Rauf and Ali Abrar.

The rescue operation for the remaining four labourers continued for more than five hours. However, as time passed, the hope to recover those stuck under the debris faded. Even though gadgets to detect the sound of humans under the debris were used, there was nobody pulled out alive.

Experts suggested the building was constructed on a faulty base.  While police and other administrative officials were present at the spot, there was no legal proceeding that was initiated. The owner of the building, identified as Abdullah, was at the site initially and left later.

Mounting death toll

Between March 11 and 22, 52 people perished in rain-related incidents in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Around 39 were injured, 153 homes were damaged, 195 cattle were killed and a person remains missing. Besides the Chitral landslides, Peshawar was the worst affected area with eight casualties.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast widespread rain/thundershowers with isolated heavy falls across K-P from Thursday to Saturday.

The rainy spell may cause landslides and flash floods in the lower areas of Chitral, Swat, Shangla, Kohistan and Mansehra. The PDMA directed the district administration to ensure necessary arraignments, PDMA Spokesperson Latifur Rehman said in a statement.

Peshawar received two millimetres of periodic light showers on Thursday. Rain continued in this stead till the filing of this report. The PMD forecast cloudy weather with rainfall and thunderstorm in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. PMD officials said gusty winds will also blow on Friday in different parts of the province. The department recorded 15mm rain in Dir, 8mm in Kalam, 5mm each in Chitral, and Saidu Sharif as well as 4mm each in Parachinar and Malam Jabba.

Thursday morning, the PDMA started a campaign across the province to encourage people to check the condition of their roofs before more rain arrives.

Chitral

A rescue operation continued for the sixth consecutive day to recover a buried student under an avalanche in Karimabad, Chitral, said an ISPR statement.

On March 19, nine people were trapped by a landslide in Karimabad and an immediate rescue operation was launched by the Chitral Scouts who were aided by the civil administration and locals. The military moved specialised rescue teams with equipment and sniffer dogs, while army aviation flew three sorties to transport manpower and necessary tools.

NDMA urban search and rescue teams of and CDA used ground penetration radar with a life object locator and snow melting chemicals were also transported to Chitral.

Former nazim Sultan Shah and Karimabad district council member Muhammad Yaqub said 300 people are struggling to recover buried bodies.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2016.