At least nine people were killed in the NCR region, including six in Delhi, as a massive thunder storm lashed the region on Friday, crippling road traffic, metro services and flight operations and hitting power supply.
Delhi Police said six people died and 13 were injured in various areas of the city in accidents like felling of trees, collapse of walls and electrocution following the storm which was accompanied by winds at a speed of over 90 kmph.
“The deaths were reported in accidents like falling trees, collapsed walls and electrocution,” he said.
Seven deaths each were reported from the eastern state of Jharkhand and West Bengal, which was also hit by storms early Saturday morning, the online edition of Times of India and broadcaster NDTV reported.
Several deaths were reportedly due to lightning strikes.
During Friday night’s storm in Delhi, five aircraft parked at the city’s international airport were damaged while 21 flights, including four international flights, were diverted to other cities after failing to land in the dust-shrouded capital, the IANS news agency reported.
Many areas of the city plunged into darkness as the storm snapped power lines. Metro train services were disrupted for about an hour due to power failure.
Agencies/Canadajournal