Wind, heavy rains kill at least 27 in Pakistan
Heavy rains followed by strong winds killed at least 27 people, including eight children, in northwest Pakistan, officials said on Sunday. "At least 12 people were buried alive after the roofs and walls of their houses collapsed," said Taimur Ali Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority. The storms hit four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province late on Saturday, with 15 people killed in Bannu district, including five siblings aged between two and 11. More than 140 people were injured and more than 200 livestock died, he said. Authorities have declared an emergency in all four of the districts. Last year, Pakistan was lashed by unprecedented monsoon rains over the summer that put a third of the country under water, damaging two million homes and killing more than 1,700 people. Meanwhile, in the south of the country, authorities said on Sunday that a cyclone was approaching Pakistan and India from the Arabian Sea. A statement by the provincial disaster management authority in Sindh province warned of extremely heavy rainfall and winds of up to 100 kilometres an hour later this week. "Fishermen are advised not to venture into the open sea till the system is over by June 17,"it said. (AFP)