Six die as nor'wester hits Dhaka

At least six people have been killed as a nor'wester, locally known as Kalbaishakhi, lashed Dhaka, uprooting trees, sinking a boat, blowing away bricks from buildings, and causing a wall to collapse on Sunday night.

A woman died after an uprooted tree fell on her in parliament area, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station OC Jan-e-Alam said.

The woman has been identified as Mily D Costa, 60, a resident of Monipuri Parha near the parliament premises.

It is believed that she was out for an evening walk during the mishap, the OC said.

Trees were upended or branches fell at different places during a storm in Dhaka on Sunday evening.

A tea seller died after being struck by a falling brick from a building at Paltan during the storm on Sunday evening.

The victim, Md Hanif, 45, was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

None of the nearby buildings was under construction, Paltan Police Station OC Mahmudul Haque said.

“We are not sure from which building the brick fell,” he said.

A man identified as Dulal Mia, 40, died in a similar incident at West Shewraparha in the capital, Mirpur Police Station OC Dadon Fakir said.

Dulal, who worked at a private firm as a driver, lived in a tin-shed building in the area.

A brick fell on him from an under-construction building during the storm. He was rushed to a hospital but doctors there declared him dead, the OC said.

A rickshaw-puller identified as ‘Hasan’, 40, died when a wall collapsed on him at Palashpur, Kadamtali Police Station OC Jamaluddin Mir said.

A woman and her five-year-old son drowned when a boat capsized in the Burhiganga river during the storm, Keraniganj Police Station OC Shaker Mohammad Zubayer said.

The boat sank near the Madaripur pier at Keraniganj on its way to Kamrangirchar, the OC added.

Locals launched a rescue operation immediately and found the boy, but he was declared dead at a hospital, Md Erfan, a resident of the Madaripur village, said.

His mother’s body was found later, Erfan added.

Neither the OC nor Erfan could immediately identify the victims,

Reports of damage caused by the storm were coming in from different areas.

The storm blew away the signboard of Shahbagh Police Station, upended an electricity pole on Minto Road and felled a tree branch on road no. 3 at Dhanmondi.

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.