QUETTA: While roads that were washed away due to floods were yet to be restored, Balochistan’s railway connection has also been suspended for an indefinite period after a major bridge collapsed near Mach area in Bolan district due to heavy rains and flood, Pakistan Railways (PR) officials said on Thursday.

Up north, several Gilgit Baltistan areas were inundated after fresh torrents of flood water hit several areas in Ghizer and Diamer districts.

Meanwhile, nine more deaths were reported in Balochistan in rain-related accidents, taking the provincial death toll to 236, according to official figures.

According to PR officials, the bridge collapsed in the wee hours of Thursday suspended inter-provincial railway services, as well as trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Turkiye.

Several GB areas hit by fresh flood torrents; joint operation by army, FC, civil admin under way in Balochistan; PR says rain hampering work on damaged tracks...

“The main supporting pillar of the bridge was washed away which resulted in the collapse,” sources have told Dawn.

A team of railway engineers have visited the site of the collapsed bridge and the work to repair the bridge will be launched on a war footing, officials said.

The bridge was built by the British government in 1885.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall continued in Quetta and surrounding areas throughout Thursday, damaging dozens of houses, while floodwater also submerged various localities on the city’s outskirts. In the wake of the alarming situation, an emergency has been declared in major hospitals of the provincial capital.

A joint operation has been launched by the Pakistan Army, FC and the local administration to rescue people and move them to safe areas. As the rainfall continued, several areas of Quetta, Mastung, Khuzdar, Sibi, Mach, Pishin, Nasirabad and Jaffarabad plunged into darkness after the 220kv Quetta-Sibi transmission line tripped.

Gas pipeline washed away

Meanwhile, heavy floods swept away another gas pipeline passing through the Bolan River near Bibi Nani area, suspending gas supply to Quetta, Pishin, Mastung, Kalat and other areas.

The pipeline was working as a temporary connection, as the main 24-inch pipeline was washed away in the same area last week.

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Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Spokesman Salman Siddiqui said that soon after the incident, SSGC had launched the repair work, however continuous rainfall and flooding hampered the efforts.

People should arrange alternate sources of gas for the time being as the repair work would take time, he advised.

Meanwhile, heavy rains and floods damaged homes and crops in Nasirabad, Jhal Magsi, Dera Allahyar, Sibi, Bolan and other areas.

According to officials, Bolan, Lehri and Nari rivers were carrying high flood.

“Heavy flood was threatening Bibi Nani bridge in Bolan,” official sources said, adding that Bolan River was carrying over 80,000 cusecs flood water.

One killed in GB

At least one person died, while four were rescued, in Diamer district on Thursday as heavy downpour and flash floods continued to leave behind torrents of destruction disasters across GB.

According to police many families were also left homeless in Ghizer and Nagar, districts after floods swept away homes.

Meanwhile, the blocking of Karakoram Highway, Jaglot-Skardu road, Astore road, Babusar Top and other inter-district roads has left many people stranded in remote areas.

Power supply and internet connectivity in the flood-hit areas remained suspended as damaged power houses, transmission lines and fibre optic cables were yet to be repaired.

Joint rescue efforts underway

A joint relief and rescue operation of Pakistan Army and Frontier Constabulary Balochistan and civil administration was underway in Balochistan’s flood-hit areas due to the extent of destruction, Inter-service Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.

“In this hour of difficulty, Pakistan Army and FC Balochistan are engaged in rescue and relief operations along with civil administration and PDMA,” the statement added.

Alongwith rescue and relief operations, the dewatering of inundated areas was also underway.

Free medical camps have been established in Kharan, Sahebpur Prom, Mand, Mirani Dam,Balingur, Gul Hakeem, Badarpur, Goth Umar Khan, Bela and other areas, ISPR added.

The civil administration and Pakis­tan Army were also working to repair damaged roads and bridges, while the Sukkur-Quetta N-65 National Highway was opened for traffic.

Work to repair damaged bridges underway: PR In a press release, the PR spokesperson said that a bridge near Herok railway station in Kachhi district has been repaired four times in one month but renewed bout of torrential rain once again rendered the bridge unusable.

According to the spokesperson, National Logistics Cell (NLC) has been hired to restore the bridge.

The operations cannot be resumed until technical teams declare the tracks suitable for travel, the spokesperson added.

Jamil Nagri in Gilgit also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2022