Another spell: 11 dead, 18 injured as heavy downpour lashes K-P

Rainwater destroys crops, houses in various districts of province

KARAK/ NOWSHERA/ SWAT/ KOHAT/ PESHAWAR/ UPPER DIR/ CHARSADDA/ BUNER/ MARDAN:

At least 11 people, including minors, were killed while 18 others injured on Saturday as yet another spell of heavy rains and a fresh spate of floods raged through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

A large number of people went missing after being swept away by heavy currents of water. The deluge began from Friday night and a series of measures have been taken in Swat and Charsadda to avoid considerable destruction.

Kohat

Two minors were killed while four others were injured when heavy downpour caused the roof of a house to collapse in an area within the jurisdiction of City police station in Kohat.

The incident took place in Garhi Rauf Khan area where the roof of a house owned by Rizwan Bangash collapsed. Bangash’s eight-year-old daughter, Sundus, and four-year-old son, Hussain, were buried under the debris.

Insiders familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune, Bangash, Neelam Bibi and his two other children, Mahnoor and Basit, were wounded. They were taken to a hospital where doctors said their condition is stable.

Upper Dir

Four people died while another five were injured when a passenger van plunged into a river in Upper Dir on Saturday morning. Seven people also went missing after the accident.

Officials told The Express Tribune, a van carrying 16 passengers was on its way to Sheringal when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it plunged into Panjkora River. Subsequently, some passengers drowned while some were rescued. At least seven passengers are missing and are believed to have been swept away by heavy currents.

According to a handout issued on Saturday, Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan and Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said expressed sorrow over the incident.

Swat

In Swat, three people were killed and two were injured when roof collapsed of a hotel on the bank of Swat River.

Swat Commissioner Mehmood Aslam Wazir told journalists people living on the bank of the river were asked to evacuate their houses.

He added the downpour started late in the evening on Friday in the upper part of Malakand Division and triggered flash floods in the low-lying areas.

Swept away

A man was killed while a minor was injured after they fell into an overflowing stream in Pir Piai area. An official of Azakhel police said Ihsan Saeed died before he could be rescued while the eight-year-old child was recovered and taken to a hospital.

Many people across the province died in a similar manner. On the other hand, a 15-year-old boy was swept away by a heavy current in Kalpani River, Mardan. His body had not been found till the filing of this report.

Buner and Karak

Two people were injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Nawagai area of Buner. In Karak district, four people were injured when their houses were destroyed by the rain.

Crops and houses

Rain water and floods have destroyed crops and houses in various districts of the province.

In some parts of Nowshera, locals whose houses were inundated were shifted to government schools buildings nearby.

In Tank, heavy rain over the past few days destroyed crops in several rural areas of the district. Rainwater also accumulated in a market in Peshawar.

Moreover, residents of Koruna Camp in Charsadda started shifting to safer spots due to the high-level of floods in Kabul River.

Charsadda AC Noorwali Khan told The Express Tribune the victims are being given shelter in Charsadda Sugar Mills.

Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency tests for Khyber Medical University and University of Engineering and Technology have been postponed due to heavy rain in the province.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2015.