Nearly 200 people die in floods in Pakistan
Residents gather at the site of a damaged bridge on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad. Photo: Reuters
Landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across northern Pakistan have killed at least 199 people in the past 24 hours, national and local officials said on Friday.
Of those killed, 180 were recorded in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where one resident likened the disaster to "doomsday".
Another nine people were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, along with five in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, the National Disaster Management Authority said.
Most were killed in flash floods and collapsing houses, with the dead including 19 women and 17 children. At least 28 others were injured.
Another five people, including two pilots, were killed when a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government helicopter crashed due to bad weather during a relief mission, the province's chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, said in a statement.
The provincial government has declared the severely affected mountainous districts of Buner, Bajaur, Mansehra and Battagram disaster-hit areas.
In Bajaur, a tribal district abutting Afghanistan, a crowd gathered around an excavator digging through a mud-soaked hill, AFP photos showed.
Funeral prayers began in a paddock nearby, with people grieving in front of several bodies covered by blankets.
"I heard a loud noise as if the mountain was sliding. I rushed outside and saw the entire area shaking, like it was the end of the world," Azizullah, a resident of Buner district, where there have been dozens of deaths and injuries, told AFP.
"I thought it was doomsday," he said.
"The ground was trembling due to the force of the water, and it felt like death was staring me in the face," said Azizullah who, like many in the region, uses only one name.
The meteorological department has issued a heavy rain alert for Pakistan's northwest, urging people to avoid "unnecessary exposure to vulnerable areas".
In the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, a region divided with Pakistan, rescuers pulled bodies from mud and rubble on Friday after a flood crashed through a Himalayan village, killing at least 60 people and washing away dozens more. (AFP)
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Nearly 200 people die in floods in Pakistan Residents gather at the site of a damaged bridge on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad. Photo: Reuters Landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across northern Pakistan have killed at least 199 people in the past 24 hours, national and local officials said on Friday. Of those killed, 180 were recorded in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where one resident likened the disaster to "doomsday". Another nine people were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, along with five in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, the National Disaster Management Authority said. Most were killed in flash floods and collapsing houses, with the dead including 19 women and 17 children. At least 28 others were injured. Another five people, including two pilots, were killed when a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government helicopter crashed due to bad weather during a relief mission, the province's chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, said in a statement. The provincial government has declared the severely affected mountainous districts of Buner, Bajaur, Mansehra and Battagram disaster-hit areas. In Bajaur, a tribal district abutting Afghanistan, a crowd gathered around an excavator digging through a mud-soaked hill, AFP photos showed. Funeral prayers began in a paddock nearby, with people grieving in front of several bodies covered by blankets. "I heard a loud noise as if the mountain was sliding. I rushed outside and saw the entire area shaking, like it was the end of the world," Azizullah, a resident of Buner district, where there have been dozens of deaths and injuries, told AFP. "I thought it was doomsday," he said. "The ground was trembling due to the force of the water, and it felt like death was staring me in the face," said Azizullah who, like many in the region, uses only one name. The meteorological department has issued a heavy rain alert for Pakistan's northwest, urging people to avoid "unnecessary exposure to vulnerable areas". In the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, a region divided with Pakistan, rescuers pulled bodies from mud and rubble on Friday after a flood crashed through a Himalayan village, killing at least 60 people and washing away dozens more. (AFP)
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