Dam burst death toll rises

Troops in helicopters brought badly needed relief supplies to flood-swamped villages in southwestern Pakistan, as the nationwide death toll from a week of heavy rain and snow climbed past 360.

Hungry survivors, their homes and livestock swept away when a dam burst its banks three days ago, huddled on high ground in the worst-hit province of Baluchistan, where 1,000-1,500 people were still missing.

Officials said a second, smaller dam collapsed elsewhere in the province today, killing seven people, while scores more casualties from avalanches and landslides were reported in the northwest and the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

About 4,000 troops backed by helicopters, coast guard boats and C-130 transport planes hauled food, medicine and tents to the Pasni town area, close to where the (490ft long Shadikor Dam burst on Thursday, sweeping people into the Arabian Sea. The Pakistan Red Crescent sent tents, blankets, tarpaulins and 40 tons of food.

The torrent of water left only empty land in its wake. Downstream from the dam, nine small villages – home to 800-900 people – were swept away. Provincial authorities say at least 200 have died in the flooding across Baluchistan, Pakistan’s biggest and poorest province.

Four medical camps have been set up around Pasni, about 1,180 miles southwest of the capital Islamabad

Elsewhere in Pakistan, weeklong rains – the heaviest in years – and avalanches in the mountains have claimed scores of lives.

In North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan, more than 100 people are confirmed to have died, said chief minister Akram Khan Durrani. Some houses were still buried by snow or landslides in the areas of Swat and Kohistan, he said.

Also, 24 soldiers deployed in the region’s snowbound Tirah valley were missing, said army spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan. Sixteen others were rescued on Saturday.

In the Pakistan-held portion of Kashmir, officials reported 18 more deaths today, bringing the death toll there to 56. Two soldiers were killed by avalanche at a remote outpost, and 16 civilians were buried by snow in their homes in the Neelum Valley. Roads into affected areas were blocked and helicopters were grounded by bad weather.

Imran Siddiqi at the state-run meteorological department in Islamabad said that rains had eased in most of the country today, but more were forecast in parts of Baluchistan and northern and northwestern Pakistan, starting tomorrow.