Three people have been killed and 21 injured by falling objects caused by strong winds sweeping Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region since Friday morning.

According to a director of the local emergency center, the most serious accident happened on the West Karamay Road, where part of the wall of a high-rising building fell down, killing a mother and her child and injuring passers-by.

Another fatality was an elderly person killed by flying iron sheet that had been blown from a shopping mall nearby.

An orange wind alert was issued by the regional meteorological center, with winds of at least 80 km per hour forecast for the suburbs of Urumqi. Downtown Urumqi has been hit by winds blowing at 60 km per hour since 4 a.m. Friday.

Fences marking special lanes for buses in several areas of Urumqi were knocked down and traffic in the lanes was suspended.

Forty-two flights in the Urumqi International Airport were delayed, re-routed or canceled by the winds.

The strong winds also damaged power lines, causing several blocks in Urumqi to lose power.

By 7 p.m., the winds had died down.

Chinese meteorological authorities use a four-tier wind alert system. Orange is the second-highest level, second only to red and followed by yellow and blue.