At least eight people were killed as a storm coupled with thundershowers lashed Dhaka, uprooting trees, sinking two boats, blowing away bricks from buildings, and causing a wall to collapse on Sunday night.
A sixty-year-old woman died after an uprooted tree fell on her in the parliament area, said Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station OC Jan-e-Alam.
The woman was identified as Mily D Costa, a resident of Monipuri Para 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 the storm.
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 the doctor 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.
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, bdnews24.com reported.
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.
Meanwhile, four people, including a woman and her son, died in separate incidents of boat capsize in Buriganga river during the storm on Sunday evening.
Two young men died as a trawler capsized in the river near Keraniganj.
The deceased were identified as Sabbir Hossain, 18, son of Shahidul Islam and Tuhin, 20, son of Afzal Hossain, both hailing from Shariatpur, residents of Dakhshin Rasulpur area.
Shaker Mohammad Jubayer, officer-in-charge of Dakhshin Keraniganj Model Police Station, said the youths went missing after the boat carrying them sank in the river amid storm while they were crossing it around 7:00pm.
Later, the bodies were retrieved from the river around 8:30pm, according to a UNB report.
Rumi Akhter, 30, wife of Ziaur Rahman and her three-year old son Ali Hossain, residents of Madrasapara in Kamrangirchar of the capital, died as a boat carrying them capsized in the Buriganga river near Borishur ghat in Keraniganj.
Sub-inspector Rasel of Keraniganj Model Police Station, said Rumi along with her son went missing after the boat carrying them sank in the river around 7:30pm while they were going to Keraniganj from Zianagar.
Later, their bodies were retrieved from the river around 8 pm.
