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KHAPLU, Pakistan: A landslide triggered by torrential monsoon rains swept away cars on a mountainous highway in northern Pakistan, killing at least three people, with more cars buried under the debris, officials said Tuesday.

Flashfloods, collapsed buildings and electrocutions have killed more than 180 people since monsoon season arrived in late June.

More than eight vehicles were swept away on Monday when heavy rains triggered a landslide on a highway in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, Abdul Hameed, a senior police officer in the area, said.

“Three dead bodies have been recovered and more than 15 are still missing,” Abdul Hameed, the district police officer for Diamer district, said.

He said at least 10 vehicles were buried under the debris.

“The rescue operation has been launched again at 6:00 am today,” he added.

Faizullah Faraq, spokesperson of the Gilgit-Baltistan government, confirmed the death toll to AFP.

Floods in the area on Monday have damaged 50 houses, four bridges, a hotel, a school and blocked major highways and damaged communication signals.

“Hundreds of trapped tourists have since been brought to safety; government teams cleared debris and escorted them off the mountain road, while local villagers provided emergency shelter and assistance,” Faraq added.

The region is a popular tourist destination, marked by towering mountains, deep valleys and wide rivers.

Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, and runs from June until September in India and Pakistan.

The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers, but also bring destruction.

In late June, at least 13 tourists were swept to their deaths while sheltering from flash floods on a raised riverbank.

In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.

DHAKA: At least 27 people were killed after a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka, officials said on Tuesday, with 88 people, including children, being treated in hospital.

The F-7 BGI aircraft crashed soon after it took off at 1:06 p.m. (0706 GMT) on Monday from the air base in Kurmitola in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure.

Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health, told reporters that 27 people had died and 88 were admitted to hospital with burn injuries.

The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.

The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding that a committee had been formed to investigate what happened.

The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane’s Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013.

The crash comes weeks after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad in neighboring India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.