Official says road in Mansehra reopened

MANSEHRA: The bodies of two herdsmen who were buried alive under the landslide triggered by a cloudburst in Kaghan valley were retrieved on Saturday.

“We have retrieved bodies of two herdsmen and handed them over to their respective families. The Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road was also opened to traffic,” District Police Officer Zaibullah Khan told reporters. According to an eyewitness, the tourists and passengers travelling between Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were stranded when landslides triggered by cloudburst hit the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road.

Four people had been buried alive in the landslides in Kaghan valley. “I have no words to thank the people of Jalkhad for their hospitality. They served the stranded people in large numbers,” Piara Shavani, a tourist from Sindh told reporters. Shavani, who was on a recreational trip to Kaghan valley along with his family, said the residents of Jalkhad extended cooperation to the stranded tourists and passengers. Seth Matiullah, the president of hoteliers association in Kaghan valley, told reporters they also provided food and other items to the stranded people. “We have been expecting a large number of tourists to join the two-day Naran festival scheduled for August 2, this year,” he said. Our Charsadda correspondent adds: Nine people, including six children, were injured in a roof collapse incident in Surkamar in Harichand here on Saturday.

It was learnt that the roof of the house of one Azizullah collapsed as heavy rains had weakened it. As a result, Azizullah, his two wives, and six children were injured. Soon after the incident, the local people rushed to the spot and pulled out the victims from the rubble. The injured were first taken to a local hospital. However, the condition of one woman and three children was critical and they were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.