PESHAWAR: As rains lashed large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the second consecutive day, two people were killed in roof collapse incidents in Bajaur and Swat districts on Monday.

Rescue 1122 and police said a man was killed in Bajaur’s Khar Bazar after his grain market shop collapsed on him due to downpour at 11:45pm on Sunday.

A senior police official, who visited the shop, said the deceased, a watchman, was asleep at the time of the incident.

He said rescue workers pulled Duran Gul, 48, from under the debris and gave him first aid before shifting him to the district headquarters hospital but the doctors declared him dead.

The official said the roof collapse damaged a car parked on the premises.

Landslide damages vehicles in Upper Kohistan

Meanwhile, the residents visited the deceased’s house and sympathised with family members. They said the deceased was the only breadwinner of the poor family, so the government and district administration should provide it with financial support.

Rescue 1122 also said a four-year-old girl was killed after the roof of her house she was present under collapsed in the Manglawar area of Swat district.

However, other members of the family were unhurt.

Meanwhile, a landslide damaged eight vehicles in the Kamila area of Upper Kohistan district.

However, no damage to human life was reported.

Rescue 1122 said that the incident occurred as a mass of rocks and mud rolled down a mountain.

Officials of the police and district administration rushed to the area and recovered the vehicles from under the rubble.

They said that drivers and other people had left vehicles before the landslide hit them.

Also in the day, authorities in Dera Ismail Khan district reopened the DI Khan-Zhob Highway, which was closed at Dhanasar point due to downpour-induced heavy landslides.

The highway, which connects Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Balochistan, is now open to both light and heavy traffic, according to the district administration.

It said in a news release that the highway’s reopening came after the efforts of commissioner of Dera Ismail Khan Division Nisar Ahmad, regional police officer Abdul GhafurAfridi and senior officials of the administrations of Zhob and Shirani districts.

The highway’s closure stranded thousands of travellers to the severe inconvenience of children, women and the elderly.

The Meteorological Department forecast partly cloudy weather in most districts of the province for Tuesday (today).

It, however, said that widespread rain-thunderstorm with gusty winds and isolated heavy downpour and hailstorm was likely to occur in Chitral, Lower and Upper Dir, Malakand, Buner, Swat, Shangla, Kohistan, Battagram, Torghar, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Charsadda, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Hangu, Kurram, Karak, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank, North and South Waziristan and Dera Ismail Khan districts.

The Meteorological Department said that during the last 12 hours, Malam Jabba area in Swat district received 24mm rains, Dir 22, Balakot 21, Bajaur 17, Saidu Sharif 13, Timergara 12, Kakul in Abbottabad district 10, Drosh eight, Kalam seven, Bannu and Peshawar four and Chitral two millimeters.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2023