More than 300 people have been killed across the country since the monsoon season began on June 26, the national disaster management authority said.

Volunteers had been working through the night in the northern city of Danyor, in mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan, to fix a man-made water channel when part of the group was buried under a mudslide, the region’s disaster agency said.

Seven bodies were recovered, the agency added in an incident report.

“It was a self-help initiative taken by the villagers as they depend mostly on these water channels,” local journalist Shireen Karim told AFP.

“They mostly work during the night because of the hot weather during the day.”

The four water channels – made of stone or mud to bring fresh water for drinking and agriculture downstream – were damaged in flash floods in July.

The volunteers had already completed work on two channels.

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

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

This season flash floods, building collapses, lightning strikes and drownings were among the causes of death.

Hundreds more have been injured.