Friday, February 11 2005 11:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: At least 26 people were killed and 700 are reported missing after a dam burst, triggering a flash flood and washing away villages in southwest Pakistan's Gwadar district.

Many of those reported missing in the coastal district are feared dead or marooned, sources said.

A flash flood washed away the Shadi Kor dam in Pasni Tehsil of the Gwadar district yesterday (Feb 10, 2005) marooning thousands of people, Baluchistan Minister Syed Sher Jan Baloch told reporters in provincial capital Quetta.

Over 700 residents of Sindhi Paso and Turati villages were missing, some of them feared dead, as gushing floodwaters swept their villages after the dam burst, he said adding so far 26 bodies have been recovered.

"The Shadi Kor dam was washed away around 1900 hrs because of accumulation of rainwater beyond its capacity. Half the Pasni Tehsil's population (5,000) is now trapped in the floodwater, I have received the information about the killing of 26 people and some of the bodies have been recovered," local daily 'The News' quoted him as saying.

Troops have been called in for rescue operations, reports said.

The recent spell of rains has played havoc with life and property in various parts of Baluchistan, washing away a number of bridges and some human settlements, besides destroying several houses and inundating crops over vast tracts in Kharan and Awaran areas.

Baloch said a 40 km stretch of the newly constructed Makran coastal highway was washed away. The flash flood also affected the Babar Shor area.

The newspaper quoted eyewitnesses as saying that after the dam burst, the floodwaters entered Pasni town and adjacent areas.

Sources said that two villages of Pasni, Sindhi Paso and Turati, have been wiped out.

Many parts of Pakistan were reeling under an unprecedented cold and wet spell for the past ten days and heavy rain is forecast for the next four days.

Some reports from Awaran district said hundreds of houses had collapsed and the Cheel bridge was washed away in the area. A number of houses have also collapsed in the Kharan area. A woman was reportedly killed due to lightning in Awaran.