DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A child was killed and three others were injured when roof of a house collapsed during heavy rain in a village of Dera Ismail Khan as snowfall and rain continued in different regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.

A police official said roof of the house of a labourer, Mohammad Hanif collapsed in North Khano Khel village of Paharpur tehsil, burying alive Hanif’s wife and three children, namely Amir, Waqar and Tahir.

The locals retrieved the people from the debris and shifted them to a local hospital, where four-year-old Amir succumbed to injuries.

In Swat, roof of a house collapsed in Mullapatay area of Malam Jabba on Sunday during heavy snowfall.

The police said no casualty occurred in the incident as the family members had left the house just before it collapsed.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Junaid Khan has directed the assistant commissioner Charbagh to provide immediate relief to the affected family.

In Mansehra, the Kaghan Development Authority (KDA0 cleared the Shogran Road for jeeps as upper parts of the Hazara division received snowfall and rain lashed the plains for the second consecutive day on Sunday.

The continuing snowfall and rains plunged the mercury further, adversely affecting the routine life in most parts of the division.

“We are trying to clear the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad-Shogran Road to provide safe passage to tourists visiting the Shogran resort amid snowfall,” Moazzam Khan, a KDA inspector, told reporters.

Mr Khan said tourists coming to Shogran were only allowed to proceed from Kawai to Shogran if they travelled through the locally-rented jeeps as private jeeps and other vehicles were not allowed to move ahead.

In Bajaur, roads in various parts of the tribal district remained blocked for second day on Sunday due to snowfall.

The residents said roads to all the snowbound areas, mostly located in Mamond, Salarzai, Nawagai, Chamarkand, Charming and Barang regions remained closed since Saturday afternoon. They urged the authorities to clear the roads of snow.

They said the mountainous parts of the district had received from 10 inches to three feet of snow over the last three days.

In Battagram, the fresh spell of rain and snowfall continued for second day on Sunday, dropping temperatures further.

Meanwhile, one more body was recovered from a house flattened by a massive landslide in Kuz area of Alpuri, the district headquarters of Shangla district, on Saturday night, taking the death toll to five.

The search operation for a five-year-old child continued despite snowfall. The landslide has also blocked the main Bisham-Swat Road.

Rescue 1122 district emergency officer Rafiullah said operation had been continuing since last Friday when the landslide had occurred in Kuz area. He said five bodies and two injured had so far been retrieved, while a child was still untraced.

He said body of Abdul Kalam, who was staying at the house as a guest was recovered at 11am on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2022