London, Jan 4: At least two persons were killed after storms, with gusts of up to 100 miles per hour swept across much of Britain, disrupting road and rail traffic besides leaving thousands without electricity in England and Scotland.
A man in his 50s died when a tree fell on his van in the extreme weather in Tunbridge Wells yesterday, Kent Police said.
The second casualty was a crewman who died after being injured on board a tanker in the English Channel.
Two others were rescued from the vessel and taken to hospital, police said.
Across the UK yesterday, trees collapsed on railway tracks and power lines, vehicles overturned on busy roads and severe weather warnings were issued, officials said.
In Surrey, a large oak tree fell on a bus, causing serious injury to the driver, police said, adding the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow has been blocked by two overturned vehicles.
The Scottish government said about 60,000 people were left without power after strong winds affected electricity lines, but the number was likely to fluctuate through the day as the storm moved towards the east and north and engineers were able to carry out repairs.
Power cuts were also reported in parts of Dorset.
Southern England and Scotland and almost the whole of Wales have been given a yellow ‘be aware' warning by the MeT office.
It has also issued an amber ‘be prepared' warning of snow and wind in parts of northern Scotland and Ireland, just behind the the most severe red ‘take action' weather warning.
Officials said teams have been dispatched to clear fallen trees, stranded vehicles and debris.
