Himachal man killed as gales hit army recruitment drive in Punjab

Strong winds uprooted a tree that later fell on a shed in Pathankot district on Wednesday morning, killing one and injuring five others, police and witnesses said.

They said a large number of youths had gathered at the army’s Unit 126 at Madhopur for a recruitment drive and a few candidates were waiting for their turn under the shed outside the bus stand.

While many of those in the shed managed to escape after the tree fell, six could not make it.

Witnesses said local residents attracted by the screams of those stuck inside rescued the injured and rushed them to Pathankot Civil Hospital, where Shashi, a resident of Patta village in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh, succumbed.

The five injured include Raj from Kud in Jammu and Kashmir and Munish from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur. They are said to be stable.

SSP Pathankot RK Bakshi, deputy Speaker of assembly Dinesh Singh Babbu and Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma reached in hospital to take stock of the situation. They directed the authorities to provide free treatment to the injured.

Wednesday was the third day of the army’s recruitment drive, which saw a large number of aspirants from the neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and J&K aiming for a job in the military.