Gusty winds: Windstorm kills six in South Punjab

Severe weather destroys houses and signboards

MULTAN: At least six people were killed and over 30 were injured on Friday evening when a powerful windstorm hit various parts of southern Punjab. The Met Office recorded at 2.6mm of rainfall and wind speed of up to at 80 kilometres per hour.

The districts of Multan, Khanewal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Sahiwal and Muzaffargarh were the worst affected.

In Multan, two girls were killed and another 10 were injured when the wall of a wedding hall collapsed during a wedding reception on Hazoori Bagh Road in Multan.

The deceased were identified as 16-year-old Yusra and 11-year-old Safia. Their bodies were shifted to Nishtar Hospital. The injured victims were identified as Aziz Fatima, 22, Ayesha, 16, Marium, 12, Hafsa 11, Yumna, 15, Faizan, 14, Akram, 13, Arshad, 19, Salman, 12, Asad 20.

A collapsed roof in Qasim Baila left 30-year-old Noureen dead while three people were injured.

Thirteen-year-old Tayyab Ali was killed when a wall of his house on Sui Gas Road caved in. The injured victims were shifted to Nishtar Hospital.

Several people also suffered injuries when signboards fell on roads in strong winds during the evening in Multan.

Abdur Rahman, a passerby, was also killed near the clock tower after a heavy billboard fell over him during the windstorm. The severe winds also resulted in the tripping of more than 50 feeders.

In Liaquatpur, a railway engineer Tauheed received severe head injuries when a signal he was fixing during the storm fell on him. A similar incident happened in Feeroza left sub-engineer Maqbool injured.

At Vehari Chowk, at least eight people were injured when a shed collapsed on passengers waiting at the bus stop.

In Mailsi, several people were injured when the canopy of wedding hall came down under the strong winds during a reception. The bride was also hurt in the incident.

Whereas, a resident of Kot Addu was killed when his motorcycle was smashed into an oil tanker due to strong winds, the dead was identified as Muhammad Saeed, however, his uncle survived the crash.

In Kot Addu, Muhammad Saeed, a resident of Chak 521, travelling on a motorcycle died when he rammed into an oil tanker due to low visibility. His uncle was also injured in the accident.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2016.