Pakistan: Several flights diverted due to bad weather

Several flights were diverted and delayed in Islamabad and Lahore due to bad weather on Saturday, ARY News reported.

ARY News is a Pakistani news channel.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson said that several flights were diverted to Multan airport owing to bad weather in Lahore and Islamabad.

A flight scheduled for Lahore from Toronto was diverted to Islamabad and another flight from Karachi to Lahore was diverted to the Islamabad airport. The flights from Abu Dhabi to Islamabad were also diverted to Multan.

As per ARY News, a Lahore-Madinah flight was delayed for nearly 3.5 hours. Another Lahore-Abu Dhabi flight was also delayed for three hours.

A Lahore-Karachi flight was delayed for nearly 2.5 hours and a Karachi-Lahore flight for 35 minutes. A Lahore-Jeddah flight was cancelled due to operational reasons.

Meanwhile, as many as 28 people were killed and more than 140 injured as heavy rain and thunderstorms hit several parts of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on Saturday, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

As per the provincial disaster management authority, 25 people were killed in rain-related incidents in KP's Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Karak and Lakki Marwat while 145 were injured. It added that at least 69 houses were partially damaged by the rain, Geo News reported.

As per PDMA's breakdown, 15 people died and 100 were injured in Bannu. It also added that 68 houses were partially damaged in the area. Meanwhile, at least five people were killed and 42 others were wounded in the Lakki Marwat district.

Meanwhile, in Karak, four people died and one person was injured. In Dera Ismail Khan, a child died due to the rains, two people were injured and one house was partially damaged.

The Rescue 1122 official said that all stations of their Rescue 1122 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are on alert to deal with any untoward incident. He said relief activities continued as roof collapses due to heavy rain took place at many places in Lakki Marwat Bannu and other parts of the province.

According to the official, Rescue 1122's search and rescue operations are ongoing as all the injured people are being taken to the hospital for treatment after providing them medical aid on the site, Geo News reported.