A landslide during a thunder and lightning storm on the main road through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber Pass buried more than 20 trucks on Tuesday, killing at least three people, with dozens more feared trapped, officials said.
Abdul Nasir Khan, the deputy commissioner of the Khyber district, told Reuters that Afghan citizens had been killed in the landslide and authorities were trying to recover the bodies. “Twenty to twenty-five containers are buried in the wreckage,” he said. “The wreckage is quite extensive and our rescue operation is continuing with heavy machinery.”
Separately, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Faizi said eight injured persons had been provided first aid care, while four had been moved to the hospital.
The official said a fire had broken out immediately after the landslide as drivers were cooking meals for sehri on gas stoves. “The blaze is now under control,” he said.
Faizi said heavy machinery including 12 ambulances, four fire vehicles, three recovery vehicles and three heavy excavators had been deployed at the site as the wreckage was extensive.
Photos shared by officials showed truck containers mostly buried in huge piles of rocks.
According to a statement issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Disaster Management Authority, the landslide took place on the main route connecting the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border at 2:30am. Resultantly, about 15 to 20 cargo vehicles were suppressed under the landslide, it said, adding that teams from Khyber, Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda and Mardan were participating in the ongoing rescue operation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief and sorrow over the lives lost in the incident. He prayed for the early recovery of the injured and directed the relevant authorities to provide them with the best possible healthcare facilities.
He also directed officials concerned to speed up rescue work and restore the road for traffic as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Karakoram Highway was blocked at several points after a landslide hit the main artery, suspending connectivity between Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad. Dasu Station House Officer (SHO) Noor Nabi Shah said heavy rainfall on Monday night caused flooding in the Uchar Nullah and damaged a makeshift bridge near the Barseen Chinese camp of the Dasu hydropower project.
Along with the Karakoram Highway, several roads in Upper Kohistan and Diamer have been blocked due to the landslides, he said, adding that several passengers had been left stranded.
Corps Commander, Lt Gen Hassan Azhar Hayat visited the landslide-hit site at Torkham where he reviewed the ongoing rescue and clearance operations of the Pakistan Army and others organizations.According to official sources, the Pakistan Army along with Provincial Rescue teams were participating in the operations at Torkham. Pakistan Army’s Urban, Search and Rescue teams were actively participating in the relief and rescue operations in the affected area.
The Army Engineers’ dumpers along with other equipment and machinery were busy in the removal of the landslides. The urban search and rescue teams of Pakistan Army were also using search cameras, rescue redaors, cutters and life locators.
