PESHAWAR: Thunderstorm with heavy rain and hailstorm claimed five lives, among them a woman and her seven-month-old son, and left several others injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Wednesday.
And according to TV news channels, the death toll from rain-related incidents in Islamabad and Rawalpindi rose to seven late in the night.
Heavy rain inundated several areas, plunged many localities into darkness and damaged a number of buildings in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, Charsadda and Mardan.
In Peshawar, the roof of a house caved in Musazai area near the Kohat road crushing beneath it a woman, Sidra, and her seven- month-old son Ahmad, while her two other children received injuries.
Similarly, in Nowshera a man named Ahsan Khan was buried alive under the roof of his house in Misribanda area.
In yet another incident, a six-year-old boy, Umair Zaib, lost his life when the boundary wall of his house collapsed in Utmanzai village in Charsadda, besides injuring a woman.
In Sadda, Kurram Agency, a man died when the wall of a market came crashing down on him.
A vehicle was damaged in the incident.
Elsewhere, thunderstorm uprooted numerous trees and billboards while snapping power supply.
Pesco officials continued mending the smashed lines late into the night.
A vast area remained bereft of power for many hours while the hailstorm hit orchards and standing crops in parts of Peshawar and its adjoining areas.
Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2016
