Rescuers race against time as K-P flood death toll tops 340

PESHAWAR:

Rescuers in flood-ravaged Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) districts clawed through mud and debris on Saturday as flash floods unleashed by days of heavy monsoon rains killed at least 344 people in the province within 48 hours, officials said.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed that 324 of the deaths were reported in K-P, with dozens more killed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. At least 137 people were injured as homes collapsed and torrents of water swept away residents, livestock and vehicles.

Officials said the scale of the devastation forced the provincial government to declare six districts — Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra and Battagram — disaster-hit. Thousands of homes were destroyed and key roads, including bridges and link route