Torrential monsoon rain, flash floods leave 111 dead in Pakistan

Islamabad, July 15 (IANS) At least 15 more people died following a fresh spell of torrential monsoon rain in Pakistan on Monday, bringing the total death toll since late June to 111, local media reported on Tuesday.

Torrential rain, accompanied by thunderstorms, flash floods, and high-velocity winds, as of Monday night, claimed at least nine lives in Punjab alone and injured more than 60, as devastation swept from Rawalpindi to Rajanpur and other areas, the leading Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune, reported.

Reports suggest that the emergency service Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad confirmed that Punjab alone has reported nine deaths and 62 injuries as a result of heavy downpours and strong winds since Monday morning.

On the other hand, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported six fatalities -- one man, one woman, and four children -- across the districts of Khyber, Malakand, Kohat, and Bajaur in the province.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan, since the beginning of the monsoon season in late June, as many as 111 people, including 53 children, have died due to electrocution, flash floods, building collapses, and lightning strikes.

In Lahore, a 20-year-old Faisal lost his life when the roof of his house collapsed and injured four others. While in Manga Mandi's Jagiyan area, a similar incident occurred when a roof fell, injuring two children.

Additionally, a tragedy hit a nearby village when a roof collapsed, leaving residents buried in the debris, while two children were rescued alive from the rubble and taken to the nearby hospital.

Also, a fatal accident occurred in Rawalpindi, on the M2 Motorway near Chakri Interchange, when a passenger bus lost control on a rain-slick road and overturned, killing four people on the spot, while 22 others were injured.

Meanwhile, in Okara's Naeemabad, lightning struck and killed two teenagers and left the third one critically injured.

In Punjab's Bahawalnagar, the roof of a madrassa collapsed, claiming the lives of two children and injuring 14 others, and 12 of them were transported to the nearby hospital.

--IANS

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