Kolkata: Four people, including three women, were killed in lightning strikes in West Midnapore district of West Bengal on Wednesday, the police said.
A man named Tapas Sabra (59) died after being struck by lightning in Thegamara area of Narayangarh police station area.
Sumitra Khamrui (50) died in Bargai area of Kharagpur local police station area.
Kajal Naik (65) and Malati Patra (47) died due to lightning in Radhamohanpur area of Debra police station area.
Three more women were injured by lightning strike in that area. Those five people in Radhamohanpur were working on the farming land in the middle of a thunderstorm.
On Wednesday, there was a forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning in several districts of south Bengal.
After being cloudy in the morning, the sky darkened in the afternoon and rained heavily in West Midnapore, West Burdwan, East Burdwan, Hooghly and Birbhum districts.
On Wednesday afternoon, there was heavy rain in some parts of Kolkata as well. Soon, a thunderstorm with lightning swept over the city. However, there was no report of any death due to lightning strike from the city till final reports came in.
Meanwhile, there is a possibility of thunderstorms in various districts of south Bengal for the next few days. Heavy rains are likely in Bankura, Birbhum, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Howrah districts on Thursday.
Heavy to very heavy rain is also likely in West Midnapore and East Midnapore districts on Thursday. Heavy rains are also likely in Kolkata as well. There is a possibility of heavy rains in several districts of south Bengal on Friday and Saturday.
The weather may improve in the southern districts from Sunday.
In North Bengal, there is a possibility of heavy to very heavy rain in Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri districts on Thursday. Heavy rains with thunderstorms are also likely in the remaining northern districts. Thunderstorms will continue in the northern districts throughout the week.
At present, a monsoon trough is over north Bengal. The monsoon axis extends from Bikaner in Rajasthan to Patna in Bihar, over Malda in north Bengal and Manipur.
In addition, a cyclonic circulation has also formed in the areas adjacent to north Bengal and Bangladesh. As a result, thunderstorms have been predicted in the state.
(IANS)
