HYDERABAD, July 29: A 450-foot wide breach in the Rohri Canal submerged 25 to 30 villages with a population of 15,000 and destroyed standing crops on around 4,000 acres of land in the Faqir Nauthiyani union council area, Matiari taluka, 60km from here on Sunday night.

A visit to the site on Monday revealed that the breach was not plugged till 7:30pm. A direct access to the villages was not possible.

The flooded villages included Darya Khan Talpur, Haji Soomar Keerio, Khuda Dino Keerio, Ilyas Panhyar and Meer Mohammad Rajar.

The residents of the villages left their houses on their own as there were no government arrangements to evacuate them.

A family of five persons was present at the site when the breach occurred. As soon as gushing water breached the canal embankment the family climbed on trees, leading to rumours that they had drowned. Later, they were rescued by the villagers.

The breach, which occurred at Bilawal Shah Mori near Salamat Keerio village, continued to widen due to water pressure.

Hyderabad district Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman, DCO Mir Hussain Ali and the police rushed to the spot.

The Rohri canal was flowing beyond its full capacity, according to the chief engineer, Sukkur Barrage, Syed Noor Mohammad Shah. He said the capacity of the canal was 11,000 cusecs but 15,000 cusecs water was flowing in it.

The main reason behind the breach, he said, was the sandy soil of the embankment which was washed away by water.

Mr Rafiquzzaman said that some NGO activists had given prior information to the irrigation department about vulnerability of the canal embankments yet no precautionary measures were taken.

He said that an inquiry would be conducted into the causes of the breach.

He said efforts were being taken to contain the flood to a specified area and not to allow it to spread any more.

He said pumps were needed to drain out water from the affected villages and the crops.

He said two relief camps were established in Bhit Shah and Khyber each. Another camp was being established at Khando bus stand.

An official said 107 people had reported to the relief camps.

A large number of other affected people shifted their families to the houses of their relatives.

Their cattle were however entrapped in the submerged villagers and their loss could not be ruled out.

When this correspondent visited the site at 4pm on Monday, some 80 divers had just begun fencing the main breach with logs of wood followed by throwing of gunny bags which were being filled with sand.

The divers said it would take a day to plug the breach. Rafiquzzaman said that the fencing work would be completed after the reduction in water flow.

Another batch of 30 divers was about to reach the site, an official said.

According to the irrigation officials, a team of the mechanical wing would arrive on Tuesday to assess the loss. A survey would also be conducted to determine the loss of crops and villages, the DCO informed.