At least 80 dead in dam burst disaster

Rescue workers have recovered at least 80 bodies from surging waters in a remote south-west province of Pakistan, where heavy rains caused a large dam to burst, sending torrents of water through the streets and sweeping hundreds of people into the Arabian sea.

“Coastguards have so far pulled out 80 bodies from the floodwaters with fishing nets, while 400 are still missing,” said Sher Jan Baluch, a provincial minister in Baluchistan province.

The 490ft long Shakidor Dam burst on Thursday near remote Pasni village in Baluchistan province, about 1,180 miles south west of the capital, Islamabad.

Witnesses described seeing trucks and tankers swept out to sea in the deluge, which came amid harsh winter weather that had already killed dozens.

More than 1,200 survivors were plucked from the water, Butt said in Baluchistan’s capital, Quetta.

Five hundred people were evacuated from the area, the army said.

About 3,000 troops backed by helicopters, coastguard cutters and C-130 transport planes arrived in Pasni with food, medicine and tents.

Continued heavy rain was hampering the search for survivors, said Baluch, adding that troops had diverted the floodwaters to save nearby towns.

About 400-500 people were still unaccounted for in the Pasni area and Baluch said he feared the death toll could rise – though some of those missing might be sheltering elsewhere.

The floodwaters also washed away crops and damaged homes in nearby Nano, but no casualties were reported, said resident Ilyas Khan, 32.

The flood had damaged much of the major Karachi-Pasni highway making travel difficult, a senior army officer in the area said on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan has been hit by more than a week of heavy rain and snow, and more severe weather was expected in the next two days, said Qamar-uz Zaman Chaudhry, head of Pakistan’s meteorological department.

Besides those killed when the dam collapsed, at least 50 more have died because of the bad weather.

Separately, at least 30 soldiers were reported missing after an avalanche buried their vehicles on a mountain road in north-western Pakistan yesterday, Pakistan’s private Geo television reported. It gave no other details.