12 Dead in West Bengal Thunderstorm

Kolkata: 12 people have lost their lives in the Nor'wester followed by a heavy thunderstorm that hit West Bengal on Monday evening. Five of them, including an 11-year-old girl, were from Burdwan East. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee shared the death toll on X-handle with a heavy heart on Tuesday. She stated, “Profoundly sad to know that 9 persons died due to thunderstorms and lightning last night (5 in Purba Burdwan, 2 each in Paschim Medinipur and Purulia), while 2 more persons died due to wall collapses in Nadia and 1 more due to tree collapse in South 24 Parganas.”

The CM added, “Our



district administrations everywhere have been working on disaster management mode round the clock and are taking actions to provide relief and ex gratia as per guidelines. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the 12 fellow citizens of Bengal.” In Purulia, four youth– Priya Ranjan Kumar (23), Rahul Kumar (25), Suresh Kumar (24) and Yudhishthir Kumar (28)-- were struck by lightning when they took shelter under a tree beside a pond at Arsa. Priyaranjan and Rahul died there. The other two seriously injured were admitted to a district hospital.