Kuwait City: One person was killed and several wounded when a strong sandstorm triggered by gale-force winds and hail lashed the desert state of Kuwait, officials said.

The victim, a man, drowned in the sea while several people were injured at a shopping mall where glass shattered and fell on shoppers, a security official said yesterday.

The meteorological department said the storm was caused by gale-force winds that blew in "semi-tornado" fashion at around 90 kilometres per hour and warned that a similar storm is expected to hit the emirate today.

The violent winds also uprooted hundreds of traffic signposts, billboards, and trees and damaged many cars in several parts of Kuwait, witnesses reported.

Authorities appealed to people to stay indoors.
Source : PTI