KHAAR, March 14: Four members of a family were buried alive and three others injured when the boundary wall and a tower of the fort-like house of former Nawab of Bajaur (late) Abdus Subhan Khan collapsed on top of another house, officials said.

Residents, who rushed to the scene of the accident, struggled for hours before retrieving four bodies from the wreckage. The deceased were identified as Khaista Rehman (house owner), his son Wahab, 15, daughter Menhaj, 12, and five-year-old son Farhad. Khaista’s wife and two other sons Shahabuddin and Saeedur Rehman were injured.

They said the wall and the tower of the fort-like house, standing precariously for a long time, had been weakened because of the recent rains.

Assistant political agent Arshad Naveed Khan and political tehsildar Mawaz Khan Afridi arrived at the scene along with a contingent of levy force. The political administration announced compensation for the affected family.