Nor'wester at 90 kmph wreak havoc; at least 5 deaths reported

Kolkata: A nor'wester measuring around 90 kmph wreaked havoc in the city and various South Bengal districts on Saturday killing at least five in the state, including two school students from Kolkata. The nor'wester disrupted flight operations and Metro services as well.

Two students from South Point School were practising rowing at Rabindra Sarovar rowing club in the afternoon when the boat overturned and capsized. One of the victims is the son of a senior Kolkata Police officer. The victims were rescued and rushed to SSKM Hospital where they were declared dead. Mayor Firhad Hakim rushed to the spot after the incident. KMDA CEO Antara Bhattacharya also visited the spot.

The victims, identified as Pushan Sadhukha and Souraduip Chatterjee, went missing for a long time.

Meanwhile, the window panes at the press box at Eden Gardens broke during the storm. Preparations were going on at Eden Gardens for hosting the IPL playoff. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly rushed to the spot after the incident.

The AFC Cup was suspended for 50 minutes due to the storm. A portion of the press box at Yuba Bharati Krirangan also got damaged.

A tree fell on Dufferin Road disrupting the traffic in the area. Darkness descended in Kolkata and other South Bengal districts at around 3.30 pm on Saturday.

An elderly man died in Burdwan after being struck by lightning when he went to graze his cattle. In another incident, a youth in the same district died after a tree fell on him. Two more have been injured in Burdwan. One person died in Nadia after lightning struck.

Flight operations were disrupted at Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport for 45 minutes. Two Kolkata-bound flights were diverted to Bhubaneswar. Of the two, one was coming from Imphal while the other was from Agartala. No flight operations took place at the airport from 4.34 pm to 5.28 pm.

Metro services were disrupted between Uttam Kumar Station and Netaji Station after a tree fell on the Up line. Train services were normal between Dakshineswar and Uttam Kumar Metro stations. Normalcy was restored in the Metro service at around 5.30 pm.

Train services were disrupted in Sealdah and Howrah sections as well. Services remained affected between 4.40 pm and 5.30 pm, a senior Metro official said.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out at Sheoraphuli railway station after overhead wires were destroyed by the nor'wester. A telephone tower collapsed and fell on two buildings at the railway station.

The MeT office had earlier predicted an impending nor'wester in South Bengal during the weekend.