Three people were killed in the torrential rains that lashed Bengaluru on Friday. A tree fell on a car, which was passing by JC Road and claimed the lives of three people including a woman.
An Esteem car was passing through JC Road and had reached Minerva Circle when a eucalyptus tree fell on the car.
According to the police, 42-year-old Ramesh, his wife Bharati (38) and Bharati’s brother Jagadish died on the spot.
“The car came through JC Road and had reached Minerva Circle. They had stopped near a garage to get their car fixed. The tree fell on the woman first and hit her from behind, killing her instantly. The other two persons also died on the spot. Two other passers-by were injured and are undergoing treatment,” a senior police officer said.
Police also said that another man was washed away by the rain in Sheshadripuram. The fire brigade was rushed to look for him. They are yet to trace the youth.
Varun Kumar, 18-year-old fridge mechanic and resident of Vyalikaval, was suspected to have been washed away in near the railway bridge on Hare Krishna Road in Seshadripuram.
Vijay Kumar and Ajay were returning from work when a their two-wheeler got stuck near a pothole. “His friend said that Vijay dropped his tool kit in the process and trued to retrieve it only to get washed away,” the officer added.
The rescue personnel are still looking for his body.
As the city experienced a thunderstorm, several important roads were water logged and compelled motorists to swim through.
According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre, Banashankari, Vijayanagara, Richmond Road, Majestic, Shanthinagar, BTM Layout, Madivala, Koramangala and Sarjapura Road were badly affected due to the heavy downpour.
Many vehicles in the basements of low-lying areas were almost submerged. Officials manning the phone lines at the BBMP control room said that innumerable number of complaints of uprooted trees have come in since it began pouring.
“We don’t know exactly how many complaints have come in yet but we are busy right now as a lot of our staff is on the field trying to clear the fallen trees,” an official at the control room told TNM.
The meteorology department in Bengaluru recorded 62.4 mm rain by 8.30 pm. Meteorology officials said that the cyclonic circulation above the Bay of Bengal adjoining Andhra Pradesh and a trough from Chhattisgarh to Tamil Nadu along with one such trough from the Arabian sea had caused such heavy rain. Officials say that there will be heavy rain for the next two days.