QUETTA Eleven drug addicts were crushed to death on Wednesday when caves carved into the bank of a seasonal drain collapsed due to heavy rains near Quetta, police said.

“The victims were all drug addicts. They had dug caves along the bank of a drain which collapsed this morning,” senior police officer Jamil Kakar said.

“Rescue workers retrieved 11 bodies. One was recovered alive,” he added.

The incident took place in Killi Sheikh Omar on the outskirts of Quetta..

The addicts used to sit and smoke heroin in small rooms like the caves which were weakened by rain, police said.

Doctor Mohammad Noor of Quetta's main state-run hospital confirmed that 11 bodies had been brought in after the incident.

Pakistan has been lashed by heavy rain in recent days after months of unusually dry weather in winter.