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
             
    天堂√中文最新版在线| 亚洲AV无码国产精品麻豆天美| 欧美精品丝袜久久久中文字幕| 国产精品无码A∨精品影院| 亚洲欧美日韩中文久久| 波多野结AV衣东京热无码专区| 亚洲中文字幕丝袜制服一区| 亚洲综合中文字幕无线码| 国产V亚洲V天堂无码| 免费无码作爱视频| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕久久| 久久久久久亚洲AV无码专区| 中文字幕AV中文字无码亚 | 小13箩利洗澡无码视频网站| 最新中文字幕在线视频| 亚洲av无码乱码在线观看野外| 国产免费无码AV片在线观看不卡 | 亚洲乱码无码永久不卡在线| 亚洲综合日韩中文字幕v在线| 日韩精品无码免费视频| 国产午夜片无码区在线播放| 日韩欧精品无码视频无删节 | 日韩免费在线中文字幕| 中文字幕亚洲综合小综合在线| 精品无码AV一区二区三区不卡 | 久久亚洲精品无码VA大香大香| 中文字幕Av一区乱码| 中文字幕乱码免费视频| 无码精品人妻一区二区三区免费| 潮喷无码正在播放| 国产三级无码内射在线看| 成人无码一区二区三区| 无码国内精品久久人妻蜜桃| 亚洲中久无码永久在线观看同| 精品无码一区二区三区在线| 久久无码AV中文出轨人妻| 日日摸夜夜添无码AVA片| 人妻AV中出无码内射| 无码专区狠狠躁躁天天躁| 久久久久久久人妻无码中文字幕爆 | 久久久久亚洲AV无码专区桃色 |