Relentless rains continued to pound Quetta on Friday, leaving Balochistan’s capital cut off from the rest of the country, however, communication lines were restored in the city after being cut for nearly 24 hours.
“Affected voice and data services in Balochistan have been restored,” the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority announced on its official Twitter handle.
Earlier, the telecommunication authority said that due to torrential rains and flash floods, the company’s optical fibre cable had been damaged.
“The PTA said that voice and data services have been impacted in Quetta, Ziarat, Khuzdar, Loralai, Pashin, Chaman, Panjgor, Zhob, Qila Saifullah, and Qila Abdullah.
Severe overnight rains hampered rescue efforts, and caused internet and mobile phone service outages, aside from disrupting the city’s air and land routes.
A key railway bridge which connects Quetta to other parts of Pakistan collapsed and flight operations to and from the provincial capital’s airport were also suspended.
The railway bridge collapsed near the Machh area in the Bolan district in the early hours of Thursday, which also suspended trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, a Pakistan Railways official said.
“Authorities have launched efforts to repair the bridge that was built by the British in 1885,” the official added.
