SWAT/DIR: At least 12 members of the same family, including nine children, were killed in their sleep early Friday morning when heavy rain-triggered mudslide buried their house in the Patrak area of Maidan tehsil in Dir Upper district.
Women and children were among the dead and all the bodies have been recovered during the rescue operation, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi confirmed.
He said that the main highway leading to Kumrat and the link bridge was also washed away by the River Swat deluge after the Kohistan cloudburst.
The Rescue 1122 spokesman said that heavy rain triggered a mudslide fell over the house of a local Wali Muhammad in Patrak area of Kumrat valley. Resultantly, the roof of the house collapsed, burying 12 members of the same family under the debris. Due to the darkness of the night and heavy rain, the local people and the rescue personnel faced difficulties in the rescue operations. Still, despite this, the rescue operations continued and with the help of dozens of local people, the rescue personnel completed the operation in the morning and recovered the dead bodies of three women, two men, and seven children.
“Civil Defence, Police and Dir Levies personnel also took part in the operation,” he added.
Among those who died were: Naushad’s wife and their four children, Summaya, Yaman Bibi, Taib and Umair Ahmed; Khan Badshah’s wife and their three children – Taqweeb Bibi, Saad, Zohan; Wali Rehman’s wife and daughter, Dua and Nasr Ali son of Wali Muhammad.
District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Ahmed also confirmed the incident and identified the deceased as Noshad Khan, Khan Bacha, Wali Rehman, their respective wives, and their children aged three to 22 years.
Heavy rain has lashed parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa all month, including the Malakand and Hazara division, where river flow has also increased. Floods have swept away the main bridge connecting Mansehra and Naran. Recently, a steel bridge was installed for connectivity with Babusar.
On the other hand, the link bridge at Makrala and Thal was also swept away by the flood. Hotels, restaurants and houses along with standing crops were also damaged in Kumrat.
According to Tehsil Nazim Kalkot Ziaur Rahman, hundreds of tourists and vehicles were stranded in Kumrat due to the flood situation and heavy rains. The administration and the locals are busy trying to protect and meet the needs of the tourists.
He appealed to the provincial government for help in the rehabilitation works.
