Heavy rains in Pakistan's capital leave 11 dead

July 19, 2023

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – At least 11 people were killed and several others wounded when a wall collapsed in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad due to heavy rains on Wednesday.

According to a local official, the incident occurred near Golra Mor, Peshawar Road, when the wall of an under-construction bridge collapsed and buried the laborers working there.

“So far, 11 bodies have been recovered, while six injured people have been shifted to a local hospital in Islamabad,” Imdadullah, a local rescue official, told Anadolu.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), so far 99 people, including 41 children, have been killed across the country since June 25 when the South Asian country was hit by heavy monsoon rains.

About 175 people, including 59 children and 48 women, were injured while 130 houses were damaged by the rains and flood.

Monsoon rains have long wreaked havoc on Pakistan in terms of both human casualties and the destruction of already fragile infrastructure. In recent years, climate change has further increased their frequency, ferocity, and unpredictability.

Last year, unprecedented rains and floods inundated a third of Pakistan, killing over 1,700 people, destroying hundreds of thousands of houses, schools, hospitals, roads, and bridges in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, and causing whopping losses of over $30 billion.