23 killed in flash flood in Pok’s Neelum Valley

People walk along a damaged road following heavy monsoon rains in Neelum valley near the Line of Control in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on July 15, 2019.

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 overnight.

“The Laswa area was badly hit, where many houses 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. .

Traffic flow in the area has been severely disrupted.