ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced financial assistance for the families of eight children who were buried in landslides in district Shangla of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The prime minister announced a compensatory package of one million rupees for the families of each child who lost their lives in the devastating incident. Financial assistance will also be given to those injured due to the landslide.

The prime minister announced the financial assistance on the request of his advisor and the PML-N President Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Engineer Amir Muqam.

Engineer Amir Muqam had written a letter to the Prime Minister appealing for assistance to those killed and injured in the Martung accident

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also instructed Amir Maqam to personally visit the affected families and offer his condolences.  The prime minister sent a message to the affected families that their grief is equally shared.

In a devastating incident, at least eight children lost their lives in a landslide in the mountainous Shangla district a day earlier. Rescue officials said that the children were playing cricket in a local ground when they were buried alive by the landslide.

Local residents initially took the initiative to start the rescue operation.  The rescue teams arrived at the difficult-to-access area and commenced rescue efforts.

The district had experienced heavy rainfall throughout the night which increased the risk of landslides in certain areas. The children tragically overlooked the risks associated with the weather conditions.