CHITRAL, March 29: Several houses have been submerged into water in Oveer valley in upper Chitral after a massive landslide blocked a stream flowing through the area. Talking to Dawn by telephone on Tuesday, the dwellers of Riri village Rahim Baig, Shahid Ali and Zahidullah said that the water was accumulating in the lake that formed after the landslide on Monday night.

They said that the village was sinking fast into the water and more houses had been inundated rendering the people homeless.

The road leading to the upper parts of the valley has also been blocked, leaving the people stranded on both sides of the stream.

The residents of the Riri village said that they were running short of daily use items and demanded immediate rescue efforts and airdropping of food.

Meanwhile, four more houses had collapsed due to the landslide in Jugoomi village in Koh union council while five houses were also under potential danger. The villagers have shifted to safer places.

Programme officer of the Focus Humanitarian Assistance in Chitral Wali Mohammad told Dawn that geological experts had been dispatched to the affected areas to assess the situation while relief measures would be initiated shortly.

He said that a report had been submitted to the district administration recommending appropriate measures to rescue the villagers from the rising waters.