ISLAMABAD: Two persons died after being struck by lightning in separate incidents on Tuesday.

The first incident took place in a slum located in Pind Sangrial in D-12. The victim was identified as Sabir Bibi, daughter of Abdul Rasheed.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat also tweeted about the incident and said a 15-year-old girl died after being hit by lightning in a slum near D-12.

“Very unfortunate news. Never heard about such an incident in Islamabad before. May Allah give patience to the bereaved,” he tweeted.

Mohiuddin Ghous, Mr Rasheed’s cousin, told Dawn that the family was present in their hut as there was heavy rain along with hail and lightning outside. He said the girl went outside to cover the tandoor with a plastic sheet to prevent water from filling in it, adding that the family later found her lying unconscious near it.

She was taken to the hospital afterwards where she was pronounced dead.

When contacted, Assistant Commissioner Mehran Baloch said the girl was brought to Pims dead and according to her death certificate she had died due to cardiac arrest.

She had suffered cardiac arrest after being struck by lightning, the assistant commissioner added.

Meanwhile, lightning killed a boy in Bhimber district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The six-year-old boy, identified as Ali Asif, was struck by lightning in the courtyard of his house in Gahi village of Samahni subdivision early in the morning, killing him on the spot, a police officer told Dawn.

Saeed Qureshi, senior director at the State Disaster Management Authority, said unrelenting rains had rendered many link roads dangerous for travel, adding that there had been accidents in some areas, but fortunately no serious casualty was reported from anywhere.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2021