CHILAS: At least eight children – including four girls – and their mother were killed after the roof of a house collapsed in the Bunar Das area of Chilas on Sunday.

The incident occurred 30km away from Chilas and the area is near the Karakoram Highway. The cause of the incident till the filing of this story could not be ascertained, however, the house was constructed on a plain area.

Locals started the rescue work themselves and recovered nine bodies out of the rubble.

Police have reached the site of the incident. Father of the eight Faraz, who runs a hotel, has reached the site.

The eldest daughter was reported to be 13 years old. The police sources had sought the National Database and Registration Authority details of the children from the father.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his grief and offered condolences to the bereaved family while reacting to the incident.

“We share the grief of the bereaved family and extend our condolences to the rest of the family. May Allah grant the deceased a high place in Jannat al-Firdous and grant patience to the bereaved. Amen,” he said in a tweet.

Bunar Das, which is a water reservoir area, is near the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and sources said that poor construction of houses coupled with harsh weather has contributed to such incidents in the past.

They added that most of the residents were residing there “temporarily” as the government has not yet shifted them to another area.

Recent floods triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 308 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, shows the National Disaster Management Authority data released on October 8. It damaged at least 91,463 houses.

A child was killed and two others were wounded when the roof of a house collapsed in Mamond tehsil on September 8. The roof was weakened by rains, rescue officials had said.

The rescue officials said a three-year-old girl identified as Madeeha Bibi died, while Saidullah, 37, and his 33-year-old wife received injuries.

People from nearby houses recovered the body and were wounded from the debris.