At least 16 people were killed and hundreds trapped after flash floods swept through a valley in Pakistan's north-western region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa early Thursday, rescue officials said, DPA reported. The floods, brought about by heavy overnight rain, washed away dozens of houses in the Gabriyal area of the remote mountainous district of Kohistan. "We have received information from the local authorities that 16 people have died in the floods," said Saima Jaan, a spokeswoman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. Shamsur Rehman, a local police official, said that the death toll might increase since several people were missing. The district was also hit hard during last year's floods, which inundated almost one fifth of Pakistan's land, displaced 18 million people and killed more than 2,000.
