275 killed by Pakistan rains

ISLAMABAD (Reuter) - Heavy monsoon rains have killed more than 275 people in northern Pakistan in two days and destroyed thousands of mud homes, officials said yesterday.

Most of the victims were killed by landslides or drowned as flooded rivers swept away bridges and roads. The government called in the army to drop food to stranded villages or evacuate marooned villagers.

Officials and relief workers said the death toll could be much higher as reports had yet to arrive from remote areas. The rains also killed more than 75 people in Pakistan-ruled Azad (free) Kashmir.