Viral video captures deadly flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; death toll in Pakistan crosses 300
Cloud bursts, flash floods, lightning strikes and building collapses caused fatalities in the hills and mountains of the province.
Buner district was the worst affected, where floods and heavy rain killed around 100 people, KPK's Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, told Reuters.
Local police officer Imtiaz Khan, who narrowly escaped the deluges, said floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders struck and flattened homes within minutes.
'A stream near Pir Baba village in Buner swelled without warning. At first, we thought it was a normal flash flood, but when tons of rocks came crashing down with the water, 60 to 70 houses were swept away in moments,' Khan told Associated Press.
Many bodies were left mutilated, he added.
Hundreds of rescue workers are still searching for survivors in Buner, said Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for the emergency services, reported Associated Press.
A helicopter carrying relief supplies to those hit by flooding in Bajaur, close to the Afghan border, also crashed due to the bad weather, killing five crew members.
Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
In Swat district, more than 2,000 people were moved to safer area, after rivers and streams swelled, rescue officials said, reported Reuters.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif chaired an emergency meeting to review the flood situation, an official statement said.
In recent weeks, hundreds of people were killed as the nation experienced more rain than usual during the current monsoon season, washing away roads and buildings.
Mourners attended mass funerals on Saturday, while authorities supplied tents and food items to flood-affected people in Buner.
According to the provincial disaster management authority, at least 351 people have died in rain-related incidents this week across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan.
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