Death toll soars past 1,000

PESHAWAR: Rescue workers and troops on Saturday scrambled to reach thousands of people marooned in their areas by the country’s worst floods in living memory, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa bearing the greatest brunt as the death toll in the province rose to 800. The nationwide figure has crossed the 1,000 mark.

Hundreds of homes and vast swathes of farmland were destroyed, with the Karakoram Highway reportedly cut off and communities isolated as monsoon rains caused flash floods and landslides. The UN reported that almost a million people had been affected by the flooding, and at least 45 bridges destroyed across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Television footage and photos shot from helicopters showed people clinging to the walls and rooftops of damaged houses as gushing waters rampaged through inundated villages.

Clutching on to their belongings and carrying their children on their shoulders, some brave souls even walked barefoot through the water to reach safety.

“The death toll from the flood-stricken areas of K-P rose to a massive 800 souls, according to some reports,” said K-P Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, but hastened to add, “these are mere speculations based on fragments of data”.