Girl Perishes in Storm in Western Macedonia

Skopje

According to the Tetovo police, the girl died when a tree fell on a car as she was inside it. The girl’s father was also injured and rushed in to hospital.

So far, no other injuries from the storm have been reported.

Winds gusting up to 100kph on Thursday night ripped off roofs, knocked down trees and billboards and caused fires in Tetovo and in the capital, Skopje.

In Skopje, the storm, which lasted no more than 25 minutes, ripped off electric poles and cables, forcing fire brigades to intervene 28 times, Blagoja Menkovski, from Skopje’s firefighters, said.

“The entire fire brigade was on alert and in action. We had reported fires in almost every Skopje district but we managed to quickly put them out,” Menkovski said.

Media reported several roof tops from buildings in Skopje and Tetovo lifting off and landing on streets.

In the morning hours of Friday, emergency crews were still busy in many areas, removing fallen trees and other debris.