[ad_1]
ISLAMABAD: Three persons, including two Afghan nationals, were buried alive while several others were injured after a huge landslide followed rains and lightning storms in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber tribal district, near the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, on Tuesday. Nearly two dozen vehicles were also buried under the debris, police said.
Authorities feared that dozens of people were trapped beneath the rubble as rescue efforts were underway to recover more bodies and clear the main road connecting the two countries. “This is a big landslide and the evacuation process will take some time to complete. Around 20 to 25 vehicles were buried in the wreckage,” said Abdul Nasir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Khyber district.
TV stations showed visuals of cargo truck containers mostly buried under huge piles of rocks.
Rescue officials said the landslide took place before dawn after rain and storms were reported in the area. “This is not a small landslide that can be cleaned up quickly. We have more than 60 people working here to remove the rubble. It’s like an entire mountain has collapsed,” Bilal Faizi, a rescue official, said, adding eight injured persons had been provided first aid care, while four were moved to the hospital.
The official said a fire had also broken out immediately after the landslide as drivers were preparing sehri, a pre-dawn meal during Ramadan, on gas stoves. “The blaze is now under control,” he said.
Authorities feared that dozens of people were trapped beneath the rubble as rescue efforts were underway to recover more bodies and clear the main road connecting the two countries. “This is a big landslide and the evacuation process will take some time to complete. Around 20 to 25 vehicles were buried in the wreckage,” said Abdul Nasir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Khyber district.
TV stations showed visuals of cargo truck containers mostly buried under huge piles of rocks.
Rescue officials said the landslide took place before dawn after rain and storms were reported in the area. “This is not a small landslide that can be cleaned up quickly. We have more than 60 people working here to remove the rubble. It’s like an entire mountain has collapsed,” Bilal Faizi, a rescue official, said, adding eight injured persons had been provided first aid care, while four were moved to the hospital.
The official said a fire had also broken out immediately after the landslide as drivers were preparing sehri, a pre-dawn meal during Ramadan, on gas stoves. “The blaze is now under control,” he said.
#Landslide #kills #buries #vehicles #northwest #Pakistan
