SWABI: Rescue workers recovered six more bodies from the debris of collapsed houses in Dalori village after a cloudburst triggered landslides in the mountainous Gadoon Amazai area of Swabi’s Topi tehsil.
The remote village remains one of the worst-hit by the disaster. Rescue teams continue a nonstop operation to locate 40 missing people.
District Emergency Officer Rescue 1122 Swabi, Muhammad Owais Babar, told Dawn that teams have so far pulled out 29 bodies, including children, women, and men. He said the district administration decided to continue the operation until locals are satisfied and monitoring is complete. The rescue began Monday morning immediately after the tragedy.
According to officials, rescuers found eight bodies on Monday, 15 on Tuesday, and six on Wednesday. Over 110 Rescue 1122 personnel are deployed in Dalori, supported by teams from Nowshera, Haripur, and Mardan.
Army personnel, civil defense volunteers, Al-Khidmat Foundation members, and villagers from Gadoon Amazai are also assisting. PTI leaders and district officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that all eight excavators used in the operation were rented from private contractors because the rescue departments of Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera, and Haripur lacked the machines.
Rescue officials said it is still unclear when the operation will end. Locals estimate the tragedy killed around 36 people, of whom 29 bodies have been recovered.
Rahim Jadoon, mayor of Topi tehsil, said the exact number of missing persons remains unknown but confirmed that the cloudburst destroyed 12 houses.
Among the victims is Anwar Zeb, a well-known spear-thrower who had returned from Saudi Arabia. He, his wife, and two children died, along with 13 members of his family. Zeb was scheduled to fly back to Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
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Rescuers recovered 25 bodies in Dalori Bala and four in Sarkoi Payan, while search operations continue for the remaining missing. In a separate incident, rescue teams retrieved the body of a young man, Talha, who drowned in floodwaters at Colonel Sher Khan Kallay.
