PESHAWAR(National Times)- A vehicle carrying Afghan families returning to the neighbouring country was swept away in a flash flood triggered by rains in the Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u2019s Khyber district on Monday, Rescue 1122 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rescue workers have so far recovered the bodies of three people travelling in the car, the emergency service said, adding that the search for the others was under way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rescue 1122 said in an initial statement that the vehicle was swept away near Sultan Khel Market, following which rescue teams were dispatched to the site and a search operation was launched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In subsequent statements, it said the bodies of a woman and a man were found by Rescue 1122 divers, who had the assistance of local residents, in the Jamrud town, while the body of a child was recovered from the Parang Sang area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bodies were initially taken to Type D Hospital in Jamrud and later to the Afghan refugee camp in Landikotal, Rescue 1122 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During their search, rescue personnel also found the body of a man who was identified as a resident of Jamrud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Separately, the roof of a room collapsed in Mardan\u2019s Kalu Dheri village, leaving two children dead, according to Rescue 1122.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The emergency service said in a statement that the children\u2019s mother and 14-year-old sister were injured in the incident. The injured were shifted to Mardan Medical Complex Hospital, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, the Pakistan Meteorological Department had predicted<\/a> widespread rains in the country for this week, with showers expected in Khyber, Mardan and several other areas of KP between July 19 and July 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In light of the forecast, Shah Fahad, Rescue 1122\u2019s director general in Khyber, chaired an emergency online meeting to review the weather situation and directed all district emergency officers to remain on high alert, the emergency service\u2019s statement detailing the meeting said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the statement, he issued directives to ensure service delivery in accordance with the approved comprehensive plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement further quoted him as saying that rescue personnel, emergency vehicles, rescue boats and specialised equipment had been deployed in all districts for emergency response while rescue personnel and equipment had also been also deployed at temporary water rescue points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRescue 1122\u2019s water rescue teams are continuously patrolling rivers, streams, nullahs and waterways,\u201d he said, adding that citizens were advised to avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from rivers and rain-fed waterways, and contact the 1122 helpline in case of emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said awareness was being raised about weather-related risks, flash floods and precautionary measures through loudspeakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For its part, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) said a control room had been established at the company\u2019s headquarters on the directives of Pesco Chief Executive Akhtar Hameed Khan, while operational teams had been placed on high alert in anticipation of rains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The power utility also advised consumers to stay away from electricity poles, wires and transformers, avoid walking through water accumulated near electrical installations, refrain from touching electrical appliances with wet hands, and report faults instead of attempting repairs themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PMD had also predicted rains between July 19 and July 23 in parts of Punjab, where several areas of Lahore received heavy showers in the afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a report released by the Water and Sanitation Agency, Gulshan-i-Ravi received the highest amount of rainfall at 98mm, followed by 86.4mm in Johar Town, 85.4 in Samanabad and 82.4 in Iqbal Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other areas that saw heavy rainfall included Saggian, which received 57.6mm of rain, Shadi Pura, which saw 54mm of rainfall, Nishtar Town having received 53.6mm of rain and Farrukhabad, where it rained 50.8mm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Rescue 1122, a 22-year-old man was electrocuted to death in a rain-related fatal incident in the Shadbagh area while the roof of a house collapsed in the city\u2019s Nain Sukh area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven people were timely rescued and taken to Mayo Hospital,\u201d Rescue 1122 said in its statement about the second incident, adding that among the injured, a woman had suffered a severe injury on her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier, two houses were completely wiped out by heavy rains in Azad Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s Neelum district on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a report released by the office of the Neelum deputy commissioner late on Sunday, 16 houses have been partially damaged due to rain. The report said that 44 shops, two vehicles and 13 motorcycles have also been damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It further added that according to initial reports, 16 link bridges, 12 electricity poles, one mosque and a private school\u2019s building had also been destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Iqbal Hassan told Dawn<\/em> on Monday that relief items were being provided to the occupants of the two houses that were destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that part of a link road had also been wiped out by the floods and work was under way to remove debris from the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Met Office has forecast showers in several areas of AJK between July 18 and July 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PESHAWAR(National Times)- A vehicle carrying Afghan families returning to the neighbouring country was swept away in a flash flood triggered by rains in the Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u2019s Khyber district on Monday, Rescue 1122 said. Rescue workers have so far recovered the bodies of three people travelling in the car, the emergency service […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Emergency meeting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Showers in Lahore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Houses, shops, roads damaged in AJK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n