At least 243 dead in Pakistan as monsoon rains trigger flash floods, landslides

Heavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and flash floods across northern Pakistan, killing at least 243 people in the past 24 hours, including 157 people who died in the flood-hit Buner district in northwest Pakistan on Friday.

Mohammad Suhail told The Associated Press that dozens of people were still missing, and rescue operations were underway.

He said 78 bodies were recovered from various parts of the district by midday Friday, and another 79 were pulled from the rubble of collapsed homes and flooded villages later.

“The death toll may rise as we are still looking for dozens of missing people,” Suhail said.

Dozens were injured as the deluge destroyed homes in villages in Buner, where authorities declared a state of emergency Friday. Ambulances have transported more than 100 bodies to hospitals, according to a government statement.

Officials said many victims died in flash floods or when their homes collapsed.  Meanwhile, a helicopter crashed during a rescue mission in monsoon-hit northern Pakistan Friday, killing five crew on board, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said in a statement.

“An MI-17 helicopter of the provincial government, carrying relief goods for rain-affected areas of Bajaur, crashed in the Pandiyali area of Mohmand district due to bad weather,” Ali Amin Gandapur said in a statement. “Five crew members, including two pilots, were killed.”

Rescuers backed by boats and helicopters worked to reach stranded residents. Dozens of villagers were still missing and the death toll is likely to rise, Buner government administrator Kashif Qayyum said.

The latest fatalities bring the total number of rain-related deaths to 556 since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

Deaths were reported from different parts of Pakistan on Thursday. Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said rescuers worked for hours to save 1,300 tourists after they were trapped by flash flooding and landslides in the Siran Valley in Mansehra district on Thursday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at an emergency meeting, ordered the disaster management authority to ensure the evacuation of tourists and all those hit by the floods.

The Gilgit-Baltistan region has been hit by multiple floods since July, triggering landslides along the Karakoram Highway, a key trade and travel route linking Pakistan and China that is used by tourists to travel to the scenic north. The region is home to scenic glaciers that provide 75% of Pakistan’s stored water supply.

A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan from June 24 to July 23 was 10% to 15% heavier because of global warming. In 2022, the country’s worst monsoon season on record killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated $40 billion in damage.

With inputs from agencies