Home>News Center>World
         
 

60 dead in Pakistan dam burst
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-12 10:04

At least 60 people were killed and hundreds missing in Pakistan after a dam burst and swept whole villages into the sea as the death toll from a week of record rains hit 122.

A wall of melted snow and rainwater escaped from the ruptured Shadi Kor dam near the coastal town of Pasni in southwestern Baluchistan province late Thursday, washing away people, houses, cars and buses in its path.


Pakistani rescue workers survey a swept away bridge after flash floods at Hingole in southern Baluchistan province, 250 km (156 miles) from Karachi February 11, 2005. [Reuters]

"It's a big disaster," provincial minister for coastal areas Sher Jan told AFP. "About half a dozen villages have been submerged after the dam burst its embankment.

"I can confirm that 60 people have died," he said. Asked how many people were missing, he replied, "Since it's a large area which has been inundated it could be in the hundreds".

Residents in the disaster zone, which is about 600 kilometres (372 miles) from the provincial capital Quetta, also said many people were missing. Some may have headed for nearby mountains for shelter, the minister added.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and ordered local authorities to help the affected areas, national television said.

The military led a huge operation to search for survivors and provide aid. Around 20,000 to 25,000 people in 35 villages were left homeless by the flood, Sher Jan later told a news conference, while others lost crops and cattle.

Using helicopters and boats, the army and navy had rescued 1,450 people in the worst-hit villages of Sindhi Puso, Turati, Kurki, Zar Khor and Sharnu Bazar, the minister said. Parts of Pasni itself were also hit.

But rescue efforts were being hampered because floodwater also wiped out 40 kilometres (24 miles) of the coastal highway as well as a number of bridges and some minor roads.

The 25-metre-high, 147-metre-long dam was built in 2003 at a cost of 45 million rupees (758,853 dollars) and used for irrigation. It was full when it burst, the minister said.

Twenty of the dead were on a passenger bus that was washed away by the deluge near Pasni, the minister said. Thirteen survivors were found later, but seven were still missing, he told AFP.

Weather officials said the length of the rainy spell, which began on February 3, appeared to be a record for Pakistan and showed no sign of letting up.

"This is the first time that the rain has continued over such a long period," Chaudhry Qamruz Zaman, director general of the Meteorological Department, told AFP.

At least 62 other people were killed and more were unaccounted for across the rest of Pakistan after heavy rain and snow in the past week.

About 30 soldiers from the army and paramilitary forces have been missing in northwestern Pakistan since Thursday.

"They have lost contact with their base," security chief of the tribal region Brigadier Mahmood Shah told AFP.

Another two soldiers were buried alive by an avalanche near Muzaffarabad, the main town in Pakistani-held Kashmir. They were among six dead in the Himalayan region, police said.

Officials said 35 had died in North West Frontier Province, including 11 people whose house was crushed by a boulder dislodged by heavy snow on Wednesday.

Seven people were killed in the remote South Waziristan tribal zone bordering Afghanistan, and three perished in the central city of Multan.

A family of eight was wiped out when the roof of their village home collapsed in Baluchistan's Pishin district Wednesday and another three people have died in other parts of the province, officials said.

Mountain areas in northern Pakistan were affected by huge snowfalls.

The Karakoram Highway linking Pakistan with China was blocked by landslides at several points, local officials in the Himalayan gateway town of Gilgit said.

The hill resort of Murree, near Islamabad, had more than four metres of snow in the past five weeks -- a 29-year record, state media said.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Japan action severe violation of Chinese sovereignty

 

   
 

US rejects one-on-one North Korea talks

 

   
 

23 die in Iraq attacks on bakery, mosque

 

   
 

60 dead in Pakistan dam burst

 

   
 

Iran vows 'burning hell' for any aggressor

 

   
 

China finds more oil reserves

 

   
  Rumsfeld makes surprise visit to Iraq
   
  Report: N. Korea demands talks with U.S.
   
  Iraq insurgent attacks kill more than 50
   
  Prince Charles to marry Camilla
   
  Terror suspect allegedly had meetings with Bin Laden
   
  3 die, guards held hostage in Argentine prison
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 久久久国产成人精品| 亚洲视频在线观看视频| 最近免费中文在线视频| 成人18视频在线观看| 亚洲av永久无码精品水牛影视| 精品乱子伦一区二区三区 | 亚洲人成在线播放网站| 立川理惠在线播放一区| 国产免费无码av片在线观看不卡| 91视频完整版高清| 快点使劲舒服爽视频| 久久精品国产99精品最新| 欧美第一页草草影院浮力| 再深点灬用力灬太大了| 韩国伦理s级在线| 国产精品伦一区二区三级视频| jizz老师喷水| 护士与税务干部完整2av| 乱码卡一卡二卡新区在线| 波多野结衣女同| 午夜私人影院免费体验区| 风间由美100部合集| 国产精品多p对白交换绿帽| fulidown国产精品合集| 手机在线中文字幕| 久久精品中文字幕| 欧美交性又色又爽又黄| 亚洲综合久久综合激情久久| 精品哟哟哟国产在线不卡| 国产丰满老熟女重口对白| 1024人成网站色| 国内揄拍国内精品视频| 一区二区三区日本电影| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区蜜桃 | 精品欧美一区二区三区在线观看| 国产大片91精品免费观看男同| **网站欧美大片在线观看| 在线观看精品国产福利片87 | 中文国产成人精品少久久| 日本道在线观看| 亚洲avav天堂av在线网爱情|