Two brothers lost their lives, and two others sustained injuries after a landslide struck two vehicles in the Loter area of Upper Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Hazara division on Saturday, officials confirmed.
The incident occurred on the Dasu-Raikot road when massive boulders broke loose, hitting an oil tanker and a poultry supplier truck, sending both vehicles tumbling into a deep ravine.
According to a statement issued by the Upper Kohistan District Headquarters Hospital, the deceased were identified as 32-year-old Islamzada and 33-year-old Sahibzada, both residents of Batkot in Shangla's Bisham tehsil.
Their bodies were crushed under the debris, which made the identification difficult.
The injured have been identified as 40-year-old Jahanzeb and 42-year-old Mohammad Niaz, both hailing from Abbottabad. Officials said that medical assistance was being provided to the injured while arrangements were being made to transport the bodies to their native town.
Authorities confirmed that the road had now been cleared for traffic, but it remained blocked at Lotar for several hours. Machinery was deployed to the site to remove rubble and fully restore traffic flow.
Rain, snowfall welcome Ramazan
Meanwhile, as the holy month of Ramazan is set to begin on Sunday (today), a powerful westerly wave is expected to hit the western parts of the country on March 2, bringing with it a spell of rain and snowfall, according to the Met office.
A powerful westerly wave is expected to bring rain and snowfall to the country from March 2-3, providing relief from the prevailing dry and hot weather during the holy month of Ramazan.
The Met Office has predicted rainfall in the federal capital Islamabad, as well as in Punjab's major cities, including Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal and Lahore, along with other districts, on March 2 and 3.
A cold spell is also expected to grip the northern regions, with rain and snowfall predicted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Chitral, Dir, Swat, Peshawar and other districts, as well as in Murree, Galliyat, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, from March 2 to 4.
Sindh's Larkana and Sukkur districts are likely to receive rainfall on the 2nd and 3rd March.
There is a possibility of landslides/avalanches in hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir during the period.
Hailstorm is also expected at isolated places in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper Punjab/Islamabad and Kashmir.
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