PESHAWAR, Feb 11: At least 109 people, including 32 army men, have so far been killed and hundreds injured by week long unprecedented rains and snowfall in the NWFP and Northern Areas of the country.

In the remote Tirah valley, at least 32 army men were killed after being hit by an avalanche, reports reaching from the area said. However, officials of the Inter Services Public Relations told Dawn in Peshawar that 32 army troops and members of the Khyber Rifles were missing in the mountainous Tirah valley.

The civilian death toll in the rain and snowfall related accidents rose to 77 in the Frontier province on Friday, forcing the provincial government to reactivate its disaster and flood warning centres in all the 24 districts.

At least 21 more people were reported dead, till the filing Of this report, in different districts of the province on Friday as intermittent rains continued for the ninth consecutive day in several plain areas of the province and mountainous regions experienced more snowfall.

Among the 21 died on Friday, two were reported dead in Swat, seven in Mardan, six in Peshawar, five in Nowshera and one in Hangu district. "Our 32 troops are missing in the Tirah valley and we had no contact with them since they were reportedly hit by an avalanche on Thursday," ISPR officials said.

"The army has started air and ground search operations to locate the missing soldiers," the officials said. Sources said a contingent of 64FF wing of the Pakistan army along with the members of the Khyber Rifles was posted at the Kot Mamad and Tirah Kachkol border checkpoints in the Tirah valley.

The two checkpoints are situated at 12,000 feet altitude. The Tirah valley has received more than 12 feet of snow during the last three weeks. Officials of the Khyber Rifles, while confirming the incident, said that army men posted at the Kot Mamad checkpoint had sought help from their colleagues in the nearby Tirah Kachkol checkpoint on Thursday after their trench caved in due to heavy snowfall.

A rescue party comprising 13 armymen and 19 members of Khyber Rifles headed by Lt Rehmatullah of the 64FF wing were hit by an avalanche. A member of the Khyber Rifles, Umar Khitab Bangash, who was left behind by the rescue party at the Kachkol checkpoint, informed officials at the Jarhobi army camp about the incident.

Official sources in Landi Kotal said that the search operation could not be immediately initiated due to bad weather. The area where the incident took place is completely cut off from other parts of the province.

The worsening situation has forced the provincial government to put its house in order and reach families stranded in snow-bound areas and extend monetary assistance to those who have suffered casualties and losses to their properties.

NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani sanctioned Rs58 million, on Friday, for paying compensation to families of the victims and to help carry out relief operations in parts of the province badly hit by the weather. The areas include Chitral, Mansehra, Battagram, Dir, Swat and Hangu.

However, the amount sanctioned by the provincial government has been described by official circles as a peanut in view of the seriousness of the matter as thousands of families have been marooned after their kutcha houses were destroyed by incessant rains which have continued for nine days without break, an unprecedented phenomena in the province.

Officials of the Met office, Peshawar, when contacted, said the current rain spell was likely to end on Friday night in several plain regions of the province.

However, as more rains are expected in near future, the provincial government, in a letter sent to the Engineers Headquarters of the Peshawar-based 11 corps, has requested return of its boats and live-jackets, which it had purchased at a cost of more Rs1.1 million some two years ago for carrying out flood relief operations in the province.

The army has been asked to return the boats and some 72 life-jackets it had been given to help the provincial government in carrying out relief operations after flash floods hit several Charsadda and parts of Peshawar in 2003.

In a letter, all Nazims, district coordination officers (DCOs) and revenue officers have been asked to provide updated details of the number of the people killed and damage to property in their respective areas to the Flood Relief Commission (FRC), NWFP.

"We have so far received information of 56 deaths and 33 injured from across the province because of the rains and snowfall," an official of the FRC told Dawn when contacted before the Friday prayers.

He said the figures were not final as more information was pouring in from across the province. A state of emergency, according to official sources, had been declared in the Flood Relief Commission which had been asked to work round the clock and coordinate with the district governments.

"A much clear picture viz-a-viz the exact number of people killed and injured is likely to emerge only once access to the hundreds of families stranded in snow-bound regions becomes possible for the district governments," said an official of the provincial government.

Though the exact number of houses collapsed because of the calamity is not known to the FRC, it is said that in view of the gravity of the situation their number must be in thousands as rains and snowfall, the sources said , had pounded several parts of the province.

In Peshawar, at least six people, including three children, were buried alive and eight wounded when mud houses collapsed in two different localities of the city, witnesses said.

In Meskeenabad area three children and an old woman were killed, while seven others wounded when a mud house collapsed early Friday morning. Local people took out bodies and wounded from the rubble. The wounded were shifted to a local hospital.

Those killed in the incident, have been identified as Gul Wazir, 11; Zubeda, 8; Bibi Hudda, 3; - all children of Abdul Kafi and Lalu, 70. In Lala Kali, on the outskirts of the city, Robbi was killed and Fahmeeda received injuries when their mud house caved in on Friday morning.

The City District government kept crises management unit on standby to cope with any disaster. Nazim Town-I, Peshawar, Haroon Bilour, told Dawnthat water pumps had been prepared to take out rainwater from the low-lying areas of the city.

At least five people were killed and many received injuries in Nizampur, Nowshera district, when mud houses caved in different parts of the area, sources said. Highways in some hilly areas of the province have also been reported closed for traffic after being covered by massive landslides.

Main highway between Swat and Kalam valley is also blocked by a massive mud slide at Fizzagut, near Swat town, on Friday. Rashid Javed adds from Abbottabad: Galyat Development Authority Director-General Tariq Hayat Khan has said continuous efforts were under way to clear the roads especially Abbottabad to Nathiagali and link roads in Galyats despite the heavy snowfall.

Talking to Dawn, the GDA DG said that a snow-removing contract for Rs2.4 million had been awarded to a private company who had sufficient machinery which includes three snow blowers and 6 bulldozers along with technical staff which is being supervised by the Engineering staff of the GDA

He pointed out that all the main roads were cleared in shortest time previously in the recent past snowfall but added that current snowfall spell, which is almost a record in past 40 years, was not letting snow-removing staff to carry out the job.

Ali Hazrat Bacha adds from Mingora: At least six people were buried alive and nine others were injured when a glacier hit houses in Balakot area near Kalam valley on Thursday.

The rescue workers recovered the bodies. Those killed in the incident have been identified as Bakht Mal, daughter of Hukam Dad; Aishah (11), daughter of Samdar; Hashmat Bebi (17), daughter of Samdar; Shaheen Bebi (21), daughter of Samdar; Zulekha (16), daughter of Muhammad Tahir; and Mehboob Khan, son of Muhammad Tahir.

Iqbal Hoti adds from Mardan: Six people were killed and nine others were seriously injured in rain-related accidents in different parts of Mardan district on Friday.

Arif Jamal, an employee of the Swabi SCARP, was killed and his wife seriously injured after the roof of their house collapsed in Mazadoorabad on Friday. In village Madey Baba, three daughters of Mohammad Nazeer died and his wife, mother, a son and two daughters were injured in a house roof collapse incident.

Tariq Naqqash adds from Muzaffarabad: Two armymen were killed after they were hit by an avalanche as the death toll in the area climbed to the six because of torrential rains and heavy snowfall here, officials said on Friday.

The latest casualties occurred in the Leepa valley on Thursday, as the area received four to five feet of snow, a police officer told Dawn. He identified the victims as Mohammad Banaras and Sarfraz Khan.

Earlier, two men were killed after an avalanche struck them in a village of the Bagh district. A woman was also in the same area due to roof collapse. Another man was killed after his house caved in due to incessant rains in Bhimber district.

The rains and heavy snowfall have also caused landslides blocking several roads linking the AJK with Pakistan. The main road link between Muzaffarabad and Islamabad via Murree hills has remained closed for more than a week.