Eight die as downpour lashes central Punjab

Heavy rain left eight people dead and 14 others injured across central Punjab on Tuesday as Gujranwala, Gujrat, Narowal, Pakpattan and Lahore were hit by widespread downpours that triggered urban flooding, roof collapses and electrocution incidents, according to a report carried by Dawn Pakistan and monitored from a public news feed.

Gujranwala was the worst affected area, where officials said the city received 238 millimetres of rain, breaking a 10-year record. The downpour, along with heavy rain in Gujrat and Sialkot, submerged roads and streets, paralysed daily life and brought commercial activity to a halt in the industrial belt.

In Gujranwala city alone, at least six people — most of them children — died and 10 others were injured in rain-related incidents. Rescue officials said the deaths were linked to collapsing roofs and walls, drowning and electrocution.

Among the victims were two young brothers, Usman, 10, and Sameer, 6, in the Dhaley area. Another child, Shaheen, 7, and six-month-old Shayan died near Naushera Virkan Road after a house roof collapsed. A child drowned after falling into a pond at an underpass in Kamoke, while Hanaan died after being electrocuted in the Bakhteywala area.

Other incidents reported in Gujranwala included serious injuries to Sameera Bibi, 25, and six-month-old Mowais after they were buried under rubble. A wall at a rice mill near Kamoke collapsed on Tatle Aali Kamunki Road, killing Fahad Hussain and injuring Arif and Mahmood. On Allama Iqbal Road, Hanan Ikram, 25, was electrocuted by an electric pole while heading to the market.

Rescue workers also reported a roof collapse in Zaheer Colony, where Sidra Nadeem, 28, Sameera Nadeem, 14, and Saira Nadeem, 10, were injured. In another accident on Naushera Virkan Road, Salmi Bibi, 33, Sana, 10, and Khadija, 5, were hurt when a house roof gave way.

In Gujrat, a trailer slipped into a ditch on GT Road Bypass after skidding in the rain. The city and neighbouring Narowal saw roads and adjoining streets submerged after a 10-hour spell of rain. In both Gujrat and Gujranwala, flooding disrupted traffic and routine life, while the excavation work on GT Road for the metro bus route between Eminabad and Gakhar Mandi worsened conditions in Gujranwala.

Pakpattan also reported fatalities when the roof of a mud house collapsed in Chak Dehwana, 33/SP. Rescue sources said Noor Fatima, 8, and Usman, 6, died on the spot, while their mother, Nasreen Bibi, a daily-wage farm worker, was critically injured.

In Lahore, four workers were injured when the roof of a factory collapsed near Band Road in the Gulshan-e-Ravi area. Rescue 1122 said the workers were trapped under debris but were pulled out with minor injuries and given first aid at the scene.

Rainfall figures in Lahore varied across the city, with Nishtar Town recording 84mm, followed