By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: At least 146 people were killed in the past 24 hours, including five in a government helicopter crash, as relentless monsoon rains and flash floods devastated Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, officials said on Friday, with several others missing and rescue operations underway.
The deluge, which has battered the region since late June, triggered deadly floods, landslides, and widespread destruction, particularly in vulnerable and densely populated areas. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported 126 men, eight women, and 12 children among the deceased, with Buner district recording the highest toll at 78 deaths.
A government MI-17 helicopter carrying relief supplies to Bajaur district crashed in KP’s Changi Banda area on Friday, killing all five passengers, including two pilots. The KP government confirmed the incident, attributing it to bad weather.
“As a result of this tragic accident, five passengers, including two pilots, were martyred,” KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said in a statement, announcing a day of mourning on Saturday with flags to be flown at half-mast. “Rescue teams have been dispatched to the crash site and the martyrs will be buried with full honours.”
Gandapur earlier noted that contact with the helicopter was lost due to “bad weather.” The provincial government said the crew’s sacrifice would be “written in golden words in history.”
In Buner, one of the hardest-hit districts, Deputy Commissioner Kashif Qayum Khan confirmed 78 deaths, including 75 men, two women, and one child, with several others missing. “An emergency has been declared across the district as relief efforts continue in flood-affected areas,” Khan told reporters, adding that helicopters were deployed to reach remote and inaccessible regions.
Floodwaters submerged Pir Baba Bazaar and nearby areas, destroying a mosque in Gokand and killing large numbers of livestock, Khan said. “Several roads remain blocked, and the exact number of missing persons has yet to be confirmed,” he added.
Other districts in KP’s Malakand Division, including Bajaur, reported significant losses, with 21 deaths, including eight children, and eight injuries due to flash floods, according to the PDMA. In Battagram, lightning strikes claimed 15 lives, while 14 people died and two were injured in Mansehra due to flooding. Swat reported 11 deaths from flash floods and lightning, while roof collapses in Lower Dir and Shangla killed seven and injured five.
Rescue 1122, a provincial emergency service, recovered 157 bodies and rescued over 100 people, including women and children, media coordinator Muhammad Sohail said. “The situation is at its worst, and rescue operations are continuing in the affected areas,” he said, noting challenges due to intermittent rain and poor mobile network coverage.
Deadly floods have wreaked havoc across northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, sweeping away homes, disrupting communications, and crippling electricity supply, officials said The deluge has caused widespread devastation in the scenic Swat Valley and neighbouring districts, with authorities warning that the death toll could climb as rescue operations continue in hard-hit areas.
In Buner district, one of the worst-affected areas, entire villages have been obliterated. “Entire villages have been wiped out, roads are gone, and infrastructure is destroyed,” said Barrister Gohar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which governs the province. He warned that the death toll could rise as rescue teams struggle to reach isolated communities.
Khan confirmed that a state of emergency has been declared in Buner, with hospitals placed on high alert to treat the injured. “Our focus is on search and rescue operations, but helicopters will be essential to reach several locations,” he said, urging both federal and provincial authorities to provide immediate assistance. “This is not a time for politics,” he added.
In Swat, floodwaters inundated a 132KV grid station, suspending electricity supply across 41 feeders, according to the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO). The company reported that 16 poles supplying the Malam Jabba area were washed away, while numerous other poles and transformers were damaged across the district. Fallen trees on transmission lines further exacerbated outages. PESCO has deployed additional staff on an emergency basis and established a control room to monitor the crisis and coordinate restoration efforts.
Communications in multiple areas have been severely disrupted, with mobile phone towers damaged, cutting off contact with flood-hit regions and hampering rescue efforts.
The Pakistan Army has launched a large-scale flood relief operation, focusing on the heavily impacted districts of Swat and Bajaur. Military teams are working to evacuate residents from inundated areas to safer locations. In Bajaur, helicopters have been deployed to airlift stranded individuals, while food supplies and medicines are being delivered to affected communities by air.
KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi indicated that an emergency declaration was under consideration, though no official notification has been issued.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the deaths and directed authorities to accelerate rescue operations in Battagram, where five houses were destroyed by a lightning strike in Neel Band village, according to Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Saleem Khan.
In Bajaur’s Salarzai tehsil, a cloudburst triggered flash floods, killing 16 and leaving seven missing, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi said. “Rescue 1122 personnel, with the cooperation of residents, have so far recovered 16 bodies and rescued three injured,” Faizi added.
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a landslide in Muzaffarabad’s Sarli Sacha village buried six family members, while two women died in Bagh and Sudhnoti. In Gilgit-Baltistan, flash floods killed 11 in Ghizer district and devastated villages in Skardu, Kharmang, and Shigar, with roads to Shandur and Deosai blocked.
The NDMA said relief operations, involving the Pakistan Army, PDMA, Rescue 1122, and local volunteers, were ongoing. “All departments are ensuring preparedness to respond to any emergency situation,” it said, urging residents to take safety measures.
The Meteorological Department forecast heavy rains in Islamabad, AJK, Upper Punjab, KP, and GB, with Sindh, including Karachi, expected to see rainfall from August 18 to 23. India’s release of water into the Chenab River prompted a flood alert for Punjab’s rivers, with a high-level threat issued for the Jhelum River.
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