BAZARAK, Afghanistan, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Several villagers went missing after a dike of a lake burst and triggered flood, which hit a remote village in eastern Afghanistan's Panjshir province early Thursday, local police said.

The dike of a natural lake named Pishkandah, located at a high mountain, collapsed overnight, with water flooding nearby Pishghor village at around 12:20 a.m. local time Thursday, deputy provincial police Chief Colonel Najim Khan told Xinhua.

"The initial information found that several villagers, including at least three women, went missing after the incident. But more details will be shared with media later in the day," Khan added.

The lake contains thousands of cubic meters of water and the flooding continued till Thursday morning.

The flooding destroyed around 500 houses and several mosques as well as agriculture lands in the village which is located in Hisa-i-Awal-i-Panjshir district in the province, 200 km north of Kabul.

The dike burst could be caused by early spring melting of ice and glaciers in and around the lake that may have been triggered by global warming, the police official said citing local anti-disaster officials.

A rescue operation was underway as local anti-disaster authorities and security force members rushed to the village in the mountainous province.