LOWER DIR: Thirteen members of a family were killed, including children and women, in a roof collapse incident, as heavy rain wreaked havoc in the Kohistan area of Upper Dir district on Friday.

The unfortunate incident occurred in Ramyal village of Patrak valley when heavy boulders hit a house in the wee hours of Friday, residents and the police said. They said wooden beams of the house broke when boulders fell upon the house, damaging three of the rooms where the inmates were sleeping. The residents and Rescue 1122 emergency teams rushed to the site and started a search and rescue operation.

As many as 13 bodies were retrieved from the debris.

The deceased were identified as wife of Naushad, his daughters Aiman Bibi and Sumyya, his sons Tayab, Umair Ahmed; wife of Khan Badshah, his daughter Taqwa Bibi, his sons Saad, 4, and 15-month-old Zuhan; wife of Wali Rehman, his daughter Dua, 2; Nasir, son of Wali Mohammad, and a four-month-old child.

CM announces financial help for aggrieved family

Residents said Naushad, Khan Badshah, Wali Rehman and Wali Mohammad were brothers. The rescue teams shifted the bodies to a nearby hospital.

Moving scenes were witnessed during the funeral prayers of the 13 deceased.

Meanwhile, data released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Peshawar said rains and resultant floods also washed away different bridges, including Darwazo Bridge in Thall, multiple bridges in Kalkot, including Parbaney Bridge, Nangera Bridge, Khadgul Bridge and Jun Kass Bridge.

The rain-hit residents demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and local administration to announce a special compensation package for the rehabilitation of the poverty-stricken family.

Civil administration officials and area elders visited the family and expressed their condolences and sympathies with it.

The torrential rains also flooded the Panjkora River and streams.

The administration issued a threat alert for people living on the banks of the river in both the Lower and Upper Dir districts. The hours’ long rains triggered flash floods, submerging various areas. Landslides and floodwater also damaged the main road leading to the scenic Kumrat valley, suspending vehicular traffic.

Former MPA Mohammad Ali demanded of the government to declare the Kohistan area of Upper Dir as a calamity-hit region and announce special package for its rehabilitation.

Taking notice of the tragic incident, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur announced financial assistance for the deceased and the injured people.

In a statement issued here, the CM expressed his grief over the tragic incident and ordered the local administration to take appropriate measures for rehabilitating the aggrieved family. Meanwhile, a 46-year-old man, identified as Noor Rehman, was critically injured when roof of a room collapsed due to heavy rains in Shadas area of Maidan, Lower Dir, on Friday.

A Rescue 1122 team shifted the injured to the District Headquarters Hospital, Timergara.

In Upper South Waziristan, three persons were injured when roof of a room collapsed in Barwand area on Friday.

A family member said the injured included two sisters and their brother, who were shifted to a nearby hospital, wherefrom one of the sisters, was later shifted to a hospital Dera Ismail Khan in critical condition.

In Battagram, a fresh spell of rain, which continued for three days, turned weather cool.

Heavy rain coupled with winds lashed Battagram, Ajmera, Tamai, Maidan, Chappargrm, Allai and other areas.

Meanwhile, shepherds coming back from Chorr valley claimed that snowfall had started in the area.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024