Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds have killed at least 27 people, including eight children, in northwest Pakistan, with most of the deaths caused by collapsing buildings, local authorities announced.
“At least 12 people were buried after the roofs and walls of their houses collapsed,” Taimur Ali Kha, spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA), told AFP.
Fifteen people were killed in Bannu district, including five siblings between the ages of two and 11, more than 140 people were injured and more than 200 animals were killed, the spokesman added.
Bad weather hit four districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday night, and authorities declared a state of emergency.
Authorities also announced that a cyclone was approaching Pakistan and India from the Arabian Sea.
Last summer, Pakistan was hit by record monsoon rains that killed more than 1,700 people, flooded a third of the country and damaged two million homes.
The Pakistan Army also announced today the deaths of at least three members of the security forces and three suspected terrorists in a firefight in northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan.
The clash took place on Friday night, near the village of Miran Shah, in the North Waziristan tribal district, when the military “attacked the location of the terrorists,” the media wing of the army said in a statement. Pakistan (ISPR).
As a result of the operation, in which weapons and ammunition were recovered, “three terrorists were killed and another four wounded,” while three members of the security forces were killed in the exchange of fire, it added.
The statement added that various operations are being carried out in the area “to eliminate any other terrorist.”
“The Pakistan Armed Forces are determined to eliminate the threat of terrorism and these sacrifices by our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the army said.
Source: TSF
