Nine dead as flash flood sweeps away family group in Pakistan

The family group were on a trip visiting the picturesque and mountainous Swat Valley, local mayor Shahid Ali Khan said.

Locals and more than 80 rescue workers were searching for survivors, rescue official Shah Fahad said.

“They went to take some selfies. There was not much water at that time. Suddenly floodwaters came and swept away the children. The water current was so strong that it looked like a dyke had been breached,” a relative of the family who did not give his name told Reuters TV.

Residents said the victims waited more than two hours for official rescue services to arrive.

“They had been screaming and crying for two hours for help,” said a local and eyewitness Shiraz Khan.

By the time rescue personnel and police arrived at the scene, four people had already been swept away, he said, adding that the current had become so strong it became difficult even for the rescuers to enter the water.

The provincial government suspended several administrative and rescue service officials for negligence.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority later issued an alert saying there were high flood levels and warning people to take precautions.

Tens of thousands of tourists, mostly from other parts of Pakistan, visit the north’s peaks and glaciers every year during the summer travel season.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “expressed his grief over the tourists’ deaths,” his office said in a statement.