ISLAMABAD, 13 September 2021 (TON): At least 14 people, including women and children, died on Sunday morning after a cloudburst caused heavy rains across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Hazara and Malakand divisions.

A majority of the casualties occurred when lightning struck a trio of houses located in a remote area named Jhatka within Judba tehsil in Torghar, according to the region's Assistant Commissioner Azhar Zahoor.

He said that the houses collapsed after being hit by lightning, burying 13 people under their rubble,. A dozen dead bodies have been recovered from the debris so far as rescue work remains ongoing.

The assistant commissioner said “I am personally supervising the rescue operation and the injured have been moved to the hospital and roads are also cleared for traffic. The affected families will be facilitated, and tents and foods will be provided to them.”

Zahoor said that a cattle pen was also damaged due to the heavy rain, while a tractor slipped, killing its driver.

Meanwhile, the roof of a house collapsed in Abbottabad's Kakul area and buried seven members of a family underneath its rubble. Three bodies have been recovered and two injured retrieved from the debris as the rescue operation continues.