Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 25 Apr: A 43-year-old PWD engineer was killed after an uprooted tree from a hilltop fell on his moving Toyota Fortuner car (AR01-T-7477) near Potin and Posa in Keyi Panyor district on Saturday morning.
Keyi Panyor Superintendent of Police Angad Mehta informed that the deceased has been identified as Deken Sorang, a junior engineer with the Public Works Department (PWD), who was posted in Pipsorang in Kra Daadi district.
The SP informed that strong wind and heavy rainfall uprooted the tree, which fell on Sorang’s vehicle. The incident reportedly occurred at around 8 am.
It is learnt that Sorang and his driver Shan Rai (36), a resident of Dhemaji in Assam, were travelling when the tree directly hit Sorang’s side of the vehicle and crushed him, resulting in his immediate death. The driver escaped without major physical injuries but was left in a state of shock and is undergoing treatment at the community health centre (CHC) in Yazali.
The SP added that, on being alerted, police personnel reached the spot, evacuated the occupants, and shifted them to the CHC.
An inquest has been conducted, and further legal formalities are being carried out in coordination with the deceased’s family, he informed.
Later, the fallen tree was removed from the highway with the help of an earthmover, restoring traffic movement.
The SP has advised commuters to avoid travelling during storms and exercise heightened caution, “especially in landslide- and tree-fall-prone areas” during the monsoon season.
Meanwhile, three persons were injured – one of them critically – when a falling tree struck a vehicle amid high-velocity winds in Dibang Valley district on Saturday afternoon.
The injured have been identified as Asiruddin Ali (35), Rajkumar (45), and Ashraf Ali (14).
Ali, who sustained head injuries, was referred to a hospital in Dibrugarh, Assam, for advanced treatment after being treated at the district hospital in Anini.
The other two individuals sustained minor injuries and are under treatment.
The situation is being closely monitored by the District Disaster Management Authority, under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Bekir Nyorak. (With DIPRO input)
