Islamabad [Pakistan], March 30 (ANI): At least nine people lost their lives in rain-related incidents across Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab provinces as heavy downpours and strong winds caused widespread damage, The Express Tribune reported on Sunday, citing rescue officials.
According to The Express Tribune, citing authorities in Rescue 1122, in KP’s Bannu, torrential rains triggered building collapses at multiple locations, killing six people and injuring more than 30 others, several of them critically.
One of the incidents occurred at a mosque in Kotka Ghulam Qadir, where three people were killed after a veranda collapsed. The victims were reportedly wedding guests who had taken shelter there during the rain. Rescue teams, with the help of local residents, carried out operations to pull people from the rubble and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals.
In a separate incident in the Warishmi Kalah Mandan area, the roof of a dilapidated house caved in, killing three children and critically injuring two others. Rescue officials said the children were inside the house at the time of the collapse. The injured were provided first aid and transported to medical facilities, while the deceased succumbed to their injuries, The Express Tribune reported.
The province’s Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Faheem visited the District Headquarters Hospital, Bannu, to review the treatment of the injured. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported that at least eight people have died in rain-related incidents across the province since March 25.
Meanwhile, in Lahore, Punjab, two people were killed, and two others were injured after the roof of a house collapsed in the Badami Bagh area due to heavy rain and strong winds, The Express Tribune reported.
Emergency teams later cleared the debris and confirmed that no additional victims were trapped.
In another incident in the Bahawalpur district, a 70-year-old motorcyclist died after slipping on a rain-soaked road in the Yazman tehsil. Rescue officials said the victim sustained fatal head injuries, and his body was handed over to family members.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that strong winds, thunderstorms, lightning, and heavy rainfall are likely to persist in several parts of the country until Monday, raising concerns about potential flash floods.
According to the department, northern districts of Balochistan, including Zhob, Musakhel, Sibi, Kohlu, Barkhan, Naseerabad, and Loralai, remain particularly vulnerable. It also cautioned that local streams in upper and central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir may overflow, The Express Tribune reported.
Most regions are expected to experience partly cloudy to overcast conditions, with intermittent rainfall forecast for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper and central Punjab, Islamabad and north-eastern Balochistan.
Isolated showers are also likely in southern Punjab and Sindh, where cities such as Karachi, Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta, and Umerkot may witness above-normal winds, The Express Tribune reported. (ANI)