5 dead, 8 injured in rain-related incidents in KP
At least five people were killed and eight injured on Friday in rain-related incidents in northern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
A PDMA report, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said that three children had died in Shangla while one adult and one child passed away in Bajaur.
The report stated that four of the five fatalities and five of the eight injured were children.
Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Rasool Khan Sharif told Dawn.com that two people died and a girl was injured after a roof collapsed in the Banda China area of Alpuri Shangla.
He also confirmed that two children were swept away by flash floods after lightning on Friday.
Separately, National Highway Authority Deputy Director Ghulam Abbas said that the Karakoram Highway was blocked at multiple locations between Kohistan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer of Gilgit Baltistan on Friday.
However, he said, teams were on the spot to remove landslides rubbles and clear the main artery for light traffic.
“Due to [the] suspension of work at Dassu hydropower project by Chinese companies, the rainwater inundated into the tunnel and it is blocked now. A request was made to the project officials to run the water pump installed in the tunnel to dewater it and allow the motorists [to continue],” Abbas told Dawn.com.
He said that road numbers, 269, 277, 339, 310, and 304,257 from Pattan to Summar nullah have been cleared for one-way traffic and efforts were underway to open all sections today.
Last month, four people were killed and nine others received injuries in different areas as heavy rain and snowfall battered KP.