Around 15 dead, several injured as squall hits West Bengal
The northwester that hit Kolkata and other WB districts yesterday left 15 persons dead and 50 others injured, the police said. Of the 15, seven died in the city, six in Howrah district, and one each in Bankura and Hooghly districts respectively. As many as 50 people were injured in incidents of wall collapse, uprooting of trees and electrocution, they said.
CM Banerjee instructs officials to look into the situation
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the Chief Secretary to look into the situation and prepare a report on the damage and deaths caused by the storm. The disaster management department has been asked to send teams to affected districts, state secretariat officials said.
Four persons were electrocuted in Howrah district
Among the seven casualties in Kolkata, an autorickshaw driver and a woman died when a tree fell on the vehicle on Lenin Sarani in the central city, police said. Two other passengers of the autorickshaw succumbed to their injuries at a hospital late last night. Of the six deaths in Howrah, four persons were electrocuted after they were struck by lightning.
One dead after electric pole fell while riding two-wheeler
One death was reported from Andul road when an electric pole fell on a person who was riding a two-wheeler. A death of a woman has been reported from Dumurjola area of Howrah district, the police said.
Flights and train services were disrupted due to the squall
The northwester which hit Kolkata with a gale force of 98 km per hour at around 7:42 pm yesterday uprooted 200 trees in 26 places of the city and disrupted traffic, the police said. Metro services and suburban train services were disrupted for over two hours. The departure and arrival of some flights, too, were delayed because of the gusty wind.
