Five killed as lightning hits power lines in Kohat

KOHAT: Five persons, including two women, were killed when lightning hit the high electricity transmission line in Sorgul area in the district early Thursday.

Local sources said that the lightning hit the transmission line in Sorgul area, causing short-circuiting in the overall power supply system. They said that the power transformer and a number of meters, electric gadgets at homes and mosques were burnt due to short-circuiting after the fall of wires.

Five persons identified as Farzana Bibi, wife of Gul Nawaz, Shamshad Bibi, wife of Javed, Tariq, Ayaz and Gul Nawaz were electrocuted when they touched electric appliances. Two women namely Farida, wife of Muhammad Iqbal and Noor Bibi, wife of Iqbal Khan sustained injuries in the incident.

The dead and injured were taken to the Divisional Headquarters Hospital in KDA and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Kohat. The bodies were later handed over to the relatives for burial while the injured were being treated at the CMH.

Moving scenes were witnessed when five funerals were taken out from the mohallah of Sorgul area. The city presented a gloomy picture following the sad incident. The incident destroyed the power transmission line, meters and electric appliances in a number of homes and mosques in Sorgul area.

The enraged residents of Sorgul area held the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) responsible for the tragic incident. They claimed that old wires of electricity high transmission line fell on the power transformer and caused the deaths and destruction.

However, the Pesco said that lightning had struck the high transmission line that caused the tragic incident. The Pesco constituted two committees to conduct an impartial probe into the incident.