Lightning and Heavy Rain Kills More Than 50 in Pakistan
Pastor Dale Morgan
Lightning and Heavy Rain Kills More Than 50 in Pakistan*
By RIAZ KHAN
The Associated Press
Friday, July 20, 2007; 4:14 PM
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Lightning and heavy rain caused landslides that
destroyed homes in two villages in northwestern Pakistan on Friday,
killing more than 50 people, officials said.
Seven houses were destroyed and others damaged in remote villages in
Dirbala district, local official Nisar Khan Wardak said. The villages
are 150 miles north of Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier
province.
He said more than 50 bodies had been recovered, several villagers were
missing, and the death toll was expected to rise.
Sultan Ghani, the region's deputy police chief, said officers and
doctors were sent to the villages, which are located in the mountains
near a fast-flowing stream.
"It seems the lightning triggered landslides, and boulders struck
homes," he said.
Some of the injured were taken to a hospital, Ghani said. He said
rescuers faced difficulties transporting the dead and injured because
the villages were so remote.
Storms in Pakistan are often deadly, as rain and snow collapse the roofs
of houses and swollen mountain streams wash away settlements.