Eight killed and 12 injured as heavy rains hit north-west Pakistan

Heavy rains killed eight people, mostly children, and injured 12 in the north-west of Pakistan, officials have said.

Downpours in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province caused rooms to collapse, crushing the people inside, according to Anwar Shahzad, a spokesperson for the local disaster management authority.

Mr Shahzad said three of the dead were siblings aged between three and seven from the same family. The casualties occurred in the past 24 hours, he added.

Pakistan has this year experienced a delay in winter rains, which started in February instead of November. Monsoon and winter rains cause damage in Pakistan every year.

Earlier this month, around 30 people died in rain-related incidents in the north-west.

Across the border in Afghanistan, heavy rainfall on March 29 and 30 destroyed more than 1,500 acres of agricultural land, causing severe damage to hundreds of homes and critical infrastructure like bridges and roads in seven provinces, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Saturday.

The provinces most affected are northern Faryab, eastern Nangarhar, and central Daikundi.

It is the third time that the northern region has experienced flooding in less than a month, with seven people killed and 384 families affected by heavy rains, the UN agency said.