CHANDIGARH: Four members of a family and a motorcyclist were killed in Patiala district as rains and strong winds lashed Punjab and parts of Haryana, police said on Friday.
The four members of a migrant workers’ family, including two children, died when the brick wall adjoining the room they were living in collapsed in Saidkheri village, Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar Garg told PTI over phone.
In another incident in Patiala district, a motorcyclist who had taken shelter under a stationary container on the roadside died after it tilted, trapping him under it, SHO, Kheri Gandian, Patiala, Inspector Kulwinder Singh said.
High-velocity winds accompanied by heavy rains lashed several places in Punjab, Chandigarh and parts of Haryana on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
In Patiala and a few other places, trees were uprooted and electric poles damaged.
Giving details of the wall collapse incident, the SHO said the family was living in a room which had a tall brick wall on its side.
“The storm was heavy and there was heavy rainfall.
The wall collapsed trapping the family under it,” he said.
“So strong was the storm that even I was forced to stop my Scorpio vehicle and take shelter under a flyover for nearly half an hour as I found driving very risky in such adverse weather conditions,” the SHO told PTI.
According to the Meteorological Department officials, rains were widespread in Punjab while few parts of Haryana including Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra were also lashed by rains on Thursday night.
In Chandigarh, the high-velocity storm caused disruption in power supply for a few hours at many places.
Earlier on May 30, a high-velocity storm had swept Chandigarh and a few parts of Punjab and Haryana, uprooting trees and disrupting power supply at many places.