BENGALURU: Seven people, including a six-year-old girl who had gone shopping ahead of her seventh birthday, were killed and nine others injured after a compound wall of Bowring Hospital collapsed during intense thunderstorms in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening.The incident occurred in Shivajinagar, where several people had taken shelter along the eight-foot-high wall to escape a sudden downpour. Officials said many of those affected were street vendors who worked along the hospital boundary.The deceased have been identified as Fayaz Ahmed, 39; Mohammed Abdul Haq, 52; Musfira, 6; KK Latha, 57; Smita, 47; Mohd Salauddin, 36; and Naseemullah, 19.Two of the victims were women from Kerala who were part of a group visiting the city.Questions over wall safetyKarnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah visited the site and announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each victim’s family.“The injured are out of danger. I have instructed doctors to provide treatment free of cost,” he said.He added that an investigation would examine whether negligence was involved. “If it was in a dilapidated condition, why did the engineers ignore its state? Construction is going on inside the hospital campus. Sand was dumped near the wall. Prima facie, the wall might have collapsed because of the pressure,” he said.Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar attributed the incident to extreme weather and ruled out lapses by civic authorities.Another compound wall, at the erstwhile Binny Mill near Cottonpet, also collapsed, although no casualties were reported there.3 dead in separate incidentsAt least three more people died in separate rain-related incidents across the city.A 17-year-old boy, Syed Sufian, was electrocuted in Shivajinagar after stepping into a puddle containing a live wire while retrieving his bike. Raghu, a 30-year-old cobbler, died of electrocution near Jedi Mara Junction on Bannerghatta Road.Late at night, Manjunath, 35, died after the roof and wall of his house collapsed in Chamarajpet.The city witnessed intense thundershowers for over an hour, with strong winds and hailstorms battering many areas.The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for “very heavy rainfall” shortly before the storm hit. Wind speeds of up to 50kmph uprooted trees and snapped branches, disrupting traffic across the central business district.
Several areas, including MG Road, Indiranagar, Koramangala and BTM Layout, saw roads turn into streams, with water levels rising up to 2–3 feet in low-lying areas.Stormwater drains overflowed as they were clogged with leaves and debris, worsening flooding.Officials said the city recorded 78mm of rainfall in central zones. The weather conditions were attributed to a trough extending from Rayalaseema to the Comorin region.Transport and connectivity disruptedFlooding affected public transport, with waterlogging reported near Jayadeva Hospital Metro station and Silk Board, forcing traffic into single lanes and worsening congestion.At KSR railway station, a fallen tree damaged parked vehicles.In several parts of the city, uprooted trees brought down overhead cables, leading to internet outages in homes and offices.“Today, Bengaluru received its official first rain, and it’s absolutely wild! Leaves are flying, trees are splitting, internet cables are destroyed, and there is silent thunder,” an X user from Gandhinagar posted.Heavy rain also affected government buildings, with water entering offices on the second and third floors of Vidhana Soudha, including those of ministers and opposition leaders.Chief minister Siddaramaiah said the intensity of the rainfall had taken authorities by surprise. Officials said special engineering teams would be deployed to vulnerable areas.The weather department has forecast intermittent thundershowers with winds of 30–40kmph over the next 48 hours. 5,000 books destroyedThe storm also caused heavy damage to businesses. Bookworm, a well-known bookshop on Church Street, reported that nearly 5,000 books were destroyed after rainwater flooded the premises.“The hailstones clogged the drainage outlets, and almost instantly, water started pouring in from all sides,” said proprietor Krishna Gowda.“Books carry knowledge, emotion and years of effort. That’s what hurts the most.”Across the city, authorities reported 170 fallen trees and 408 broken branches by late evening, with the highest damage recorded in central and western zones.Civic agencies received more than 500 distress calls as residents reported flooding and fallen trees.In one incident, a tree fell on a woman in Kaval Byrasandra, leaving her injured.
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Traffic disruption after cutout collapseA large cutout of late actor Vishnuvardhan fell near Prasanna theatre on Magadi Road following a tree fall, briefly disrupting traffic.“All the obstacles at the spot were cleared by 6.20pm and traffic flow returned to normal,” an officer said.
