2 killed in roof collapse amid torrential rainfall in KP's Swabi

SWABI: A man and his daughter were killed as the roof of their home collapsed due to torrential rain in Topi tehsil, while two others were critically injured, Rescue 1122 officials said on Thursday.

The spokesperson for Rescue 1122 Swabi, Luqman Khan, told Dawn that the family was sleeping when the roof of the house in the Azadkhel area caved in.

He said that the sound alerted the neighbours, who informed the rescue service, adding that locals had begun rescue efforts before the officials arrived on the scene.

The dead were identified as Mohammad Fareeq, 50, and his daughter, 28, while the injured were identified as Fareeq’s wife, 45, and their son Awais, 30.

Khan said the injured and bodies were taken to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.

Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 said that the teams had responded to multiple building collapses in Swabi due to heavy rainfall.

No casualties were reported when a bank building collapsed, while rescue services shifted two people to a safe location in Jarandu Nahr and evacuated five others from Azamabad Chowki.

In a separate statement, it said that more than 300 people had been evacuated to safer areas amid flash floods and landslides due to the torrential rain.

The Met Office has predicted heavy rainfall with isolated torrential rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Malakand, Nowshera, Charsadda, Swabi, Shangla, Battagram, Buner, Kohat, Hangu, Kurram, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar and Mardan until Aug 21.

It also warned of urban flooding in Swabi’s low-lying areas.