Four die as rain continues to lash KP

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: Various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan continued to receive rainfall on Sunday. Also, a roof collapse incident and flash flood left four people dead and two injured in Peshawar and Lower South Waziristan districts, respectively, followed by heavy landslides in the Mount Sulaiman Range in the border hilly areas of Balochistan and KP.

In Peshawar, two women were killed and two children injured when the roof of a mud-house collapsed on Kohat Road in Badaber town on the outskirts of the provincial capital. An official of the Rescue 1122 said two women died while two children were injured in the incident. They belonged to the same family and were buried under the debris when the roof fell on them.

The Rescue 1122 officials, he said, pulled out all the people from under the debris and a medical team provided first aid to the injured before being shifted to hospital where the doctors pronounced the two women dead.The bodies of the deceased women were handed over to the family for burial.Also, two people died when a pick-up was swept away by rainwater after heavy rain in Kazapunga area in Birmal tehsil in Lower South Waziristan district.

Assistant Commissioner Wana Yasir Salman Kundi said the dead included Muhammad Sulemankhel and Karam Sarkikhel Wazir. He said heavy rain caused flooding of a water channel in the Kazapunga area, which swept away the vehicle, resulting in the death of two persons.

Meanwhile, heavy landslides occurred in the Mount Sulaiman Range, due to recent rains in the border hilly areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Spokesperson of the National Highway Authority (NHA) on Sunday said a large part of the Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa highway had been affected by the landslide at Dhana Sar on the National Highway (N-50) after which traffic had been suspended.

On the instructions of Federal Minister for Communication Maulana Asad Mehmood, the field staff and machinery of NHA have been mobilised to remove the landslide debris from the road.

Secretary Communications and Chairman NHA Captain (R) Muhammad Khurram Agha were in constant contact with the NHA field officers in Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Member Balochistan Shahid Ehsanullah was himself supervising the restoration work and expressed the hope for complete opening of traffic soon.

At present, the NHA staff and machinery were active in removing the landslide debris from the road while more heavy machinery had been called from Zhob and Quetta.

The NHA has opened the road for light traffic while the affected road would be completely restored for all types of traffic within 24 to 30 hours.

Agha Inayatullah, General Manager Balochistan-North, has requested the commissioner and deputy commissioner to stop the traffic in Zhob and Saifullah. Passengers coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can use the alternative route (N-70) Loralai-DG Khan Highway.

The NHA has appealed to passengers heading in the affected direction to be aware of the weather conditions before traveling. It said it was always ready to deal with all kinds of emergencies and was committed to providing the best road services to the nation.