The death toll in flash floods that hit a remote valley in Pakistan's north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has risen to 71, a government official said Friday, dpa reported. Heavy monsoon rains triggered the floods Thursday in the mountainous Kohistan district, located 180 kilometres north of Islamabad. The Kandia River washed away 30 houses in Gabrial village and inundated dozens more, leaving hundreds of people stranded. Adnan Khan, a spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said Friday that locals had recovered 33 bodies while 38 people were missing. "These missing people are now also considered dead," he said. Imtiaz Hussain, the district's administrative head, said rescue workers were having difficulties reaching the remote area because bridges and a road washed away by last year's floods had yet to be rebuilt. -- SPA
