PESHAWAR: A automobile carrying Afghan households returning to the neighboring nation was swept away in a flash flood, triggered by rains, within the Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber district on Monday, Rescue 1122 stated.
Rescue staff have thus far recovered the our bodies of three folks touring within the automotive, the emergency service stated, including that the seek for the others was underneath means.
Rescue 1122 stated in an preliminary assertion that the automobile was swept away close to Sultan Khel Market, following which rescue groups have been dispatched to the positioning and a search operation was launched.
In subsequent statements, it stated the our bodies of a lady and a person have been discovered by Rescue 1122 divers, who had the help of native residents, within the Jamrud city, whereas the physique of a kid was recovered from the Parang Sang space.
Individually, the roof of a room collapsed in Mardan’s Kalu Dheri village, leaving two youngsters lifeless, in line with Rescue 1122.
The emergency service stated in a press release that the youngsters’s mom and 14-year-old sister have been injured within the incident. The injured have been shifted to Mardan Medical Advanced Hospital, it added.
Final week, the Pakistan Meteorological Division had predicted widespread rains within the nation for this week, with showers anticipated in Khyber, Mardan and a number of other different areas of KP between July 19 and July 23.
Emergency meeting
In light of the forecast, Shah Fahad, Rescue 1122’s 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’s statement detailing the meeting said.
According to the statement, he issued directives to ensure service delivery in accordance with the approved comprehensive plans.
The statement further quoted him as saying that rescue personnel, emergency vehicles, rescue boats and specialized equipment had been deployed in all districts for emergency response while rescue personnel and equipment had also been deployed at temporary water rescue points.
“Rescue 1122’s water rescue teams are continuously patrolling rivers, streams, nullahs and waterways,” 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.
He said awareness was being raised about weather-related risks, flash floods and precautionary measures through loudspeakers.
For its part, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) said a control room had been established at the company’s headquarters on the directives of Pesco Chief Executive Akhtar Hameed Khan, while operational teams had been placed on high alert in anticipation of rains.
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.
Rains in AJK
Earlier, two houses were completely washed away by heavy rains in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Neelum district on Sunday.
Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Iqbal Hassan told Dawn that relief items, including beds, food and utensils, were being provided to the affected families.
He added that part of a link road, located about two kilometers ahead of Athmuqam, had been washed away, while debris had blocked around a five-kilometer stretch of the road. Machinery has been deployed to clear the route, he said.