Jammu, May 25: Four people, including a woman, died while six others sustained critical injuries after thunderstorm wreaked havoc in Jammu region on Wednesday. 

 Official sources said that lightning struck in a village at Vijaypur in Samba district, this evening, leaving two labourers dead on the spot. They said that the labourers were engaged in a construction work at Dabu village when lightning struck.

 The deceased were identified as Mithun Kumar and Jeet Raj hailing from Chatisgarh. Three labourers, including Jag Ram and Jagdish Kumar, were injured and were shifted to nearby government hospital.

 Another labourer, identified as Feroz Din, died in a similar incident in the same area, sources said. 

 Police said that a woman Jan Bi wife of Abdul Gani, died when lightning struck her house at Galota village in Rajouri district.

 In neighbouring Poonch district, four labourers were injured in a similar incident at the under construction government primary school Gajarian. The injured were identified as Zahid Hussain son of Nazir, Zulfikar Ali son of Muhammad Lateef, Muhammad Saleem son of Haider Khan and Muhammad Arif son of Nazir Hussain.

 Meanwhile, strong gusty winds which lashed the city snapped power supply of many areas in the city and uprooted trees at many places.

 Though the weather became pleasant with residents enjoying the cool breeze and dip in the temperature, but till late evening many of the localities were without electric supply. 

 The dust storm also brought life in the city to a standstill for more than two hours as the gusty winds coupled with drizzle created problems for the people.

 When contacted Director Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Sonum Lotus said the sudden shift in the weather was due to the Western Disturbance (WD). He said that thunderstorms will continue to lash the region for next 24-hours.

 “Cloudy conditions will remain for next 48-hours and there is expectation of thunderstorms in most parts of the state which will bring down the temperature by few degrees”, Lotus said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 IST