Helicopter crash kills five people in Pakistan

Five people have died in a helicopter crash in Pakistan after it was sent to help recovery efforts after floods killed more than 160 people in the region this week.

The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province confirmed the accident in a statement on Friday, local time.

"An MI-17 helicopter of the provincial government, carrying relief goods for rain-affected areas of Bajaur, crashed in the Pandiyali area of Mohmand district due to bad weather," Ali Amin Gandapur said in a statement.

"Five crew members, including two pilots, were killed."

In northern and north-western Pakistan, flash floods have killed at least 164 people in the past 24 hours, including 78 people who died in the flood-hit Buner district in north-west Pakistan on Friday, officials said.

Dozens were injured as the deluge destroyed homes in villages in Buner, where authorities declared a state of emergency on Friday.

Ambulances have taken 56 bodies to local hospitals, according to a government statement.

The helicopter that crashed on Friday was on a relief mission when it went down in the north-west, Mr Gandapur, said.

At least 35 people were still missing in these areas, according to local officials.

Rescuers evacuated 1,300 stranded tourists from the mountainous Mansehra district hit by landslides on Thursday.  

More than 477 people, mostly women and children, have died in rain-related incidents across the country since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.