Nearly fifty people were killed and more than 200 injured as torrential rains and windstorm battered Pakistan's port city of Karachi Saturday night, rescue and police officials said. Wind blew at about 60 knots or 69.1MPH. Bodies started piling up at hospitals soon after the rain started. Medico-legal officers at five government and private hospitals said that there was mass confusion as unidentified bodies were arriving. Trees fell, walls and tin roofs collapsed, giant billboards keeled over and live electric wires; these were the main causes of death. Fatal traffic accidents were also reported. More rain is expected across Sindh, according to the Pakistan metrology department with the coastal belt particularly vulnerable. The monsoon arrived two weeks before schedule, as it usually started in the first week of July and ended around September 15, according to the regional metrology centre s director, Muhammad Tauseef Alam. A large part of Karachi was deprived of electricity since the massive windstorm swept across the metropolis. The electricity distribution and transmission systems were reported to have suffered serious faults following the rain. Telephonic and mobile communication was also affected during the windstorm and rain.
