At least 33 people were killed in northern Pakistan after flash floods triggered by heavy rain lashed villages, officials said on Sunday. Chitral district near the Afghan border in the north western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the worst affected. At least 31 people were killed in the district’s Ursoon village, where floodwaters swept away several houses, an army post as well as a mosque, Mayor Maghfirat Shah said.

The disaster management authority in the province, which has been severely hit by heavy rain in recent years, said in a statement that efforts were being made to provide villagers with food and other relief material. The torrential rainfall began late on Saturday. The bodies of eight of the casualties from Ursoon village were found beyond the Afghan border, senior local official Osama Waraich said.