Americas

Americas

Argentina seasonal storm kills 13

06 April 2012 00:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Hurricane-force winds in and around the capital of Buenos Aires Wednesday night left 13 dead, most from falling debris, police and health authorities said Thursday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Four people died in Buenos Aires, while eight were killed in areas around the capital and one person in the province of Santa Fe, according to the Buenos Aires Province Emergency Council and Santa Fe Province Civil Defense.

Another 20 people were injured and several of them have been hospitalized, while some 500 people have been evacuated from their homes, the official sources said.

Three of those killed were crushed to death when winds of up to 120 kilometers per hour caused the roof of their home to collapse in the shanty town of Villa 21, located in the neighborhood of Barracas in Buenos Aires.

One man was killed by a falling tree in the neighborhood of Flores, and two women, 25 and 52, were crushed to death when two ancient eucalyptus trees were uprooted by the winds in the capital districts of Gonnet and Avellaneda.

Local train service was suspended and traffic disrupted in areas where streets were flooded or blocked by downed trees and posts, the officials said.

Causing extensive damage, the strong winds mixed with rain and hail also knocked down advertizing posters, traffic lights and street lights, public telephones, trash cans, telephone cables and power lines, which left several districts without electricity or running water Thursday.

Roofs were blown off two gas stations, injuring five people, official sources said.