QUETTA:
The death toll in rain-related incidents rose to 188 in Balochistan after six more people were reported to have been killed after being swept away in flash floods in the Killa Abdullah district on Saturday.
At least 12 people sitting in a tractor trolley in the Killi Paizai Syedan area of the Killa Abdullah district had swept away.
“We rescued six people and six people died,” said Deputy Commissioner Killa Abdullah Munir Ahmed Kakar. He said a rescue operation was underway to shift the people to safer places. Floods have washed away three dams constructed in the mountainous Killa Abdullah district.
“Population in the affected villages shifted to safer places,” Home Minister Balochistan Mir Ziaullah Langove told an emergency press conference on Saturday at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) office.Langove and other officials visited the PDMA office and reviewed the pace of rescue and relief operations in the province. “The government has provided all necessary foodstuff to the affected families,” he said.
Floods have also caused the suspension of the Quetta-Karachi highway. It has washed away small bridges including the Lunda bridge at Uthal. “People should avoid travelling on the Quetta-Karachi highway”, Dawood Khilji, Commissioner Mekran Division cautioned the people.
He said the administration was engaged in reopening of the highway to facilitate the passengers traveling on the highway. Rains have swept away roads, bridges and dams in Lasbela, Killa Abdullah, Killa Saifullah, Khuzdar and other parts of Balochistan.
“We have declared an emergency in 26 districts of Balochistan,” Langove told the reporters. He said the PDMA has provided foodstuff to over 30,000 families in Balochistan. The displaced families have been provided food and tents, he added.