PESHAWAR, June 23: At least five people were killed and over 50 wounded, some of them seriously, here on Sunday, when a fierce storm followed by heavy downpour struck the city, blowing off roof-tops and uprooting power and telecommunication lines.
The whistle-blowing storm ripped through mostly mud houses in the suburbs of Peshawar, where it caused the maximum damage to life and property. Met office said the velocity of gusty winds was 65 nautical miles and it brought down walls, rooftops, tree and power and telecommunication poles. Doctors at three major hospitals in Peshawar confirmed the death of five people.
Police said that a woman, Hukamzari, was killed in Regi in the outskirts of Peshawar, while eleven year-old Bahadaur died in Shaheen Muslim Town. Niaz Anjum, son of Sultan Zarin, was killed when an electricity pole fell on him on the Ring Road. Another two-year-old kid of Waris Khan died in Tehkal Payan when hit by a falling wall. His three sisters and a brother received injuries and were rushed to a hospital. Another man died in Mattani near Peshawar.
Doctors at the city’s Lady Reading Hospital said 24 people were brought to the hospital with multiple injuries. Fourteen others were rushed to the Hayatabad Medical Complex while eight people were treated for various injuries at the Khyber Teaching Hospital.
A spokesman for the Peshawar Area Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) said the storm uprooted two main power towers in Regi and Warsak, disrupting power supply in almost the entire city.
He said the entire regular and emergency staff had been called out to restore power, which remained suspended till the filing of this report at 9.30pm
“The repair work is going on but we cannot say when power will be restored,” Shaukat Afzal said. He said the storm had done severe damage to the transmission lines.
At several places, trees and electricity poles, brought down by the storm, blocked the roads and disrupted traffic.
