23 killed as cloud burst causes flood in Pok's Neelum Valley

Islamabad: At least 23 people were killed and several others are missing after a cloudburst caused flash flood in the Neelum Valley of the Pakistan occupied Kashmir, officials said.

A large number of homes in the Laswa area of the Valley were damaged and dozens of people were swept away in the flooding caused by relentless rainfall after the cloudburst over night. "The Laswa area of the valley was badly hit where many house were swept away. There were also reports of landsliding in some areas. A total of 23 people have been killed," Syed Al-Rehman Qureshi, Director of Operations, State Disaster Management Authority, said.

He said several people, including women and children, are still missing. Landslides were also reported in the area and officials said many structures in the Laswa's main market, including two mosques, were completely destroyed.

Traffic flow in the area has been severely disrupted, while cell phone and internet services are also affected. Teams including officials from the district administration, disaster management authority and local police are conducting rescue operations in the area.

Last week, a flood hit several villages in Golen Gol area of Chitral district after a glacial lake burst its banks overnight, toppling electricity poles and inundating roads and farmlands, the Express Tribune reported.

The glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) occurred after the Jam Ashpar glacier – a popular tourist destination in Chitral – exploded overnight, it said.