At least six people were killed and traffic was thrown out of gear as a nor’wester lashed the capital, felling trees and disrupting power yesterday evening. The nor’wester coupled with hailstorm and rain stirred up around 6:00pm and soon turned gusty with heavy winds and thundershowers. The tropical storm, the first of the season, lasted for a few minutes, according to the Met Office.
A tea vendor and a pickup van driver were killed after bricks fell on them from nearby buildings at Purana Paltan and Shewrapara areas. A tree fell on a woman near parliament, causing her death. A rickshawpuller died in wall collapse in Kadamtali and a woman and her son drowned in a boat capsize in Buriganga near Kamrangirchar.
Md Hanif, 50, a tea vendor,
died after a piece of brick fell on him from an under-construction building in Purana Paltan area of the capital, said police. In Shewrapara, a pickup van driver died after a brick fell on him from a building. In Kadamtali, a rickshaw-puller identified as ‘Hasan’, 40, died when a wall collapsed on him.
A woman and her 5-year-old son drowned when a boat capsized in the Buriganga river during the storm, Keraniganj Police Station OC Shaker Mohammad Zubayer said. Their identities could not be know immediately, he added.
The wind speed was recorded at 74 km per hour with 17 mm of rain during the storm, said Meteorologist Bazlur Rashid. The sudden rain caused a widespread traffic chaos in the city, inflicting sufferings on those returning home from their offices.
An official at the Fire Service and Civil Defence control room said trees getting uprooted were reported from at least 25 areas. A tree branch fell on a car and an autorickshaw at Kakrail. The autorickshaw driver suffered minor injuries, police said.
UNB adds from Manikganj: Ferry and launch services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route in the Padma River were suspended due to the sudden stormy weather in the afternoon.
Zillur Rahman, assistant general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said the authorities suspended the water transport services on the route from 5:40 pm due to the bad weather. A total of 16 ferries and around 400 vehicles remained stuck on both sides of the river, said the official adding that the services will be resumed once the weather condition improves.