Saturday, Feb 12, 2005
Saturday, Feb 12, 2005 |
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, FEB. 11. At least 100 people were reported killed and hundreds missing in Baluchistan province of Pakistan after a dam burst and swept several villages into the sea. Incessant rains in the province ruptured the Shadi Kor dam near the coastal town of Pasni. The 147-metre-long dam was built in 2003 essentially for irrigation. It was full when it burst, the provincial Minister for Culture and Tourism, Syed Sher Jan Baloch, told the state-run Radio Pakistan. Conceding that it was a major disaster, he said the provincial government was still in the process of assessing the damage, as several areas around the dam were still inaccessible. The Minister said the personnel of Pakistan Army and Navy and volunteer agencies have started full-scale relief and rescue operations. Mr. Sher Jan said a crisis Control Management Cell has been set up in the State capital, Quetta, to monitor the relief operation. The Director-General, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Shaukat Sultan, said that hectic relief efforts are being made near Pasni to evacuate the affected. He said Pakistan Army helicopters have been sent to evacuate the affected and medical assistance, tents and food items are being provided to them. Reports said heavy rains and flood submerged many portions of the coastal highway in Gawadar district besides some bridges in the province. Pasni airport was closed for traffic as the runway came under rain and dam water. Road and air link of Pasni town and many other coastal areas have been cut off. Reports said Pakistan's army and navy had rescued 1,450 people in the worst-hit villages. According to the Minister, around 8,000 people in the area were affected, losing their homes, crops and cattle in the torrent. "We know many people have gone into the mountains," he said. The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, and the Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and ordered the local authorities to help the affected.
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