Chandigarh, June 1: A cyclist was killed while 12 persons were injured after a squall lashed the tricity on Friday evening. A tree fell on a man riding a cycle on the road separating Sector 10 and 11.
Soon, commuters informed the police and the Horticulture Department about the incident. A team arrived at the spot and rushed the cyclist to the PGI where he was declared brought dead. The deceased, believed to be in his mid-thirties, is yet to be identified. At least 12 persons with minor injuries were rushed to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16. However, no such case was reported from the GMCH, Sector 32.
There were reports of uprooting of trees from several places, including Sector 3, 8 and 9, the Punjab Secretariat and near Sukhna Lake.
The dust storm, coupled with rain, broke windowpanes, damaged dish antennas, disrupted power supply and led to long traffic jams at many places in the tricity.
The dust storm hit the city at 4.40 pm and continued till 5.15 pm. While the wind velocity recorded in the city was 75 km per hour, according to Surinder Paul, Director, Chandigarh Meteorological Centre, the observatory at the airport recorded a speed of 85 km per hour.
The squall led to a massive dip in the temperature. At 5.30 pm, soon after the squall was over, the city Met observatory recorded a temperature of 24.6°C, 16 degrees below normal, while at 8.30 pm, the mercury settled at 26°C.
Paul said the department had issued a warning about a thunderstorm in the region. It was the second such squall in past one month which plunged the city into darkness. Earlier on May 2, a similar dust storm was reported. Paul said a similar situation could arise in the coming days.
The tricity had been witnessing intense heat wave for the past several days. The mercury had been hovering over the 40°C mark.
