Nine killed as rain plays havoc in NWFP

Torrential rain and snowfall played havoc in upper parts of the Frontier province as nine people were killed and at least six injured in Shangla, Battagram and Kohistan districts. Separately, a plane of a private airline with 119 passengers and crew members on board skidded off the runaway at the Peshawar airport due to heavy rains. All passengers and crew remained unhurt and were offloaded safely, said Farooq Nasir, spokesman for Shaheen Airline. Shaheen Air’s Boeing-737 coming from Abu Dhabi slipped off the runway at 8.45am and its tyre got stuck in the mud. Civil Aviation officials said the plane, a subsidiary of the Pakistan Air Force, was pulled out after a few hours. However, the fleet of other airlines continued uninterrupted.