Massive downpour, lightning kill 26 in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

At least 26 people were killed and several others injured after massive rains and lightning struck parts of northeast and southwest Pakistan over the past 24 hours, provincial rescue officials said on Saturday.

Punjab's southern districts, Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Lodhran were the hardest hit where lightening killed 17 people. Over a dozen persons were also injured in rain-related accidents across the province.

Another eight deaths and around a dozen injuries were reported from different districts of Balochistan, the country's largest province in terms of land, where massive rains and flash floods inundated large swathes and caused streams to burst their banks.

One person died and another two got injured in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Heavy downpour also knocked out power and destroyed crops and orchards in respective districts.

A Balochistan government spokesperson said an emergency alert was issued due to torrential rains across the province.