Over 20 die as heavy rains batter KP, Punjab

PESHAWAR/LAHORE: Over 20 people were reported dead and scores others injured as heavy rain followed by thunderstorm wreaked havoc with different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on Saturday.

According to details, district Bannu was the hardest hit district where more than a dozen people died and over 80 others sustained injuries in different incidents.

At least five people including four children and women died and over 70 were injured in the Lakki Marwat wall collapse incidents.

All stations of Rescue 1122 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are on alert to deal with any untoward incident, said an official of the emergency service.

He said relief activities continued as due to heavy rains, roof collapses occurred at many places in Lakki Marwat, Bannu and other parts of the province.

He disclosed that Rescue 1122’s search and rescue operations are ongoing as all the injured are being shifted to the hospital after providing medical aid on the spot.

In a statement, KP Caretaker Information Minister Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah said that a high alert had been issued in the hospitals of the affected districts.

He said the interim government was in contact with the authorities of the affected areas.

Similarly, heavy rains along with strong winds battered several parts of Punjab including Sargodha, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and other districts.

In Chan village of Khushab district of the province, three girls died after a wall of their house collapsed due to torrential rains.

Two more people were reported killed and more than a dozen others injured in rain-related incidents in Gujranwala and other districts.

Heavy rains and strong winds also disrupted electricity supply in many areas.

Heavy rain with thunderstorm was also reported from Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Nakyal city and its suburbs.