Latest news with #PirBaba
Sky News
a day ago
- Climate
- Sky News
Mass funerals held after more than 300 die in floods across India and Pakistan
Why you can trust Sky News More than 300 people have been killed by flash flooding across Pakistan and India-controlled Kashmir, local authorities say. Rescuers began a third day of scouring the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwestern Pakistan, while others looked for missing people in the Kishtwar district of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Mass funerals were held in Buner, one of the worst-hit areas, where 184 people were reported dead by local officials. Some 93 bodies had been recovered there by Saturday, with many buildings destroyed and crops ruined. A witness described fast-flowing water sending boulders and "tons of rocks" crashing through residential areas. The villages of Pir Baba and Malik Pura were the worst impacted and where most emergency responders were deployed. In Shangla, a collapsed roof killed 34 people, the province's chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah said. Across the border in Indian Kashmir, at least 60 people are believed dead and 150 injured. In Pakistan, medical camps have been set up and shelters established for families who have lost their homes. Rescuers have evacuated more than 1,300 tourists from the mountains in Mansehra district, Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman, said. Rescue helicopter crashes On Friday, a helicopter carrying supplies to the flood-hit northwestern region of Bajaur crashed during bad weather, killing all five people on board. Machinery is being deployed to clear and repair roads, while civilian and military teams continue with rescue operations, Pakistan's deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar said. "Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones, to those who are injured, and many whose homes and livelihoods have been swept away," Mr Dar said in a social media statement. Heavy rain and cloud bursts first triggered the flash floods on Thursday amid an annual Hindu pilgrimage. Initially, 300 people had to be rescued, with a further 4,000 pilgrims taken to safety. The region has suffered multiple floods since July. A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan between 24 June to 23 July was 10% to 15% heavier because of global warming.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Climate
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Flash floods wreak havoc in northern Pakistan
Published On 16 Aug 2025 16 Aug 2025 Rescuers in northern Pakistan have pulled dozens of bodies overnight from homes ravaged by landslides and flash floods, taking the death toll to at least 321 in the past two days, according to disaster agencies. Hundreds of rescue workers continue to search for survivors in the Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan after torrential rains and cloudbursts caused massive flooding on Friday, washing away dozens of homes, according to the provincial Disaster Management Authority. First responders are focusing recovery efforts in the villages of Pir Baba and Malik Pura, which suffered the highest casualties on Friday, according to Bunar deputy commissioner Kashif Qayyum. 'We do not know from where the floodwater came, but it came so fast that many could not leave their homes,' said Mohammad Khan, 53, a Pir Baba resident. Dr Mohammad Tariq at a Buner government hospital reported that most victims died before reaching medical care. 'Many among the dead were children and men, while women were away in the hills collecting firewood and grazing cattle,' he said. At least 307 casualties are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Above-average rainfall in Pakistan, which experts attribute to climate change, has triggered floods and mudslides that have killed approximately 541 people since June 2, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. In neighbouring Indian-administered Kashmir, floods have killed dozens and displaced hundreds in recent days. Experts note that cloudbursts have become increasingly common in India's Himalayan regions and Pakistan's northern areas, with climate change being a significant contributing factor. Pakistani officials report that since Thursday, rescuers have evacuated more than 3,500 tourists stranded in flood-affected areas nationwide, though many tourists continue to ignore government warnings to avoid these regions despite the risk of additional landslides and flash floods. In 2022, Pakistan experienced its worst monsoon season on record, killing more than 1,700 people and causing approximately $40bn in damage.
