Heavy rain: Five dead, seven injured in landslides

MANSEHRA/ SHANGLA/ BUNER/ MARDAN:

Landslides in the eastern part of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa left five dead, and seven injured. At least nine houses were also damaged.

A mother and her two children were buried alive when a rock fell on their house in a village in Amazai area of Daggar, Buner. The incident occurred on Thursday evening; the three victims were laid to rest on Friday.

Buner DC Khaista Rahman told The Express Tribune the rock fell on Faridoon’s house, killing his wife, 12-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son. The DC announced Rs300,000 in compensation for the bereaved family.

In another incident, a woman and a child were killed while five others were injured when the boundary wall of a mud house collapsed in Kochian area of Shergarh, Mardan Friday afternoon. Shergarh SHO Anwar Khan said the incident occurred around 2pm. The injured were rushed to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Takht Bhai.

In Jaraid village, Mansehra, a landslide on Kaghan Road injured two people and damaged three houses. Police said mounds of mud fell on rooftops, partially damaging two houses and completely destroying the third.

The destroyed house belonged to Jamal Din and wife Noor Jahan, who were rescued from the rubble and rushed to Balakot Hospital. Their condition is said to be stable.

According to a police official, landslides paralysed all of Kaghan Valley for the third day in succession, blocking most of the region’s main arteries.

Meanwhile, four houses were torn down by landslide in different areas of Shangla, however no loss of life was reported. Owners of two of the houses were identified as Shireen Bashar and Muhammad Rehman. The link road to Kirari has also been blocked due to heavy rain, disconnecting the area from other parts of the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2015.