1 killed as nor'wester lashes south Bengal districts

The victim, who is yet to be identified, died after being struck by a lightning at Keshiari in Paschim Medinipur district, officials said.

Kolkata: One person was killed by lightning as a nor’wester struck different parts of South Bengal on Thursday evening, officials said.

The victim, who is yet to be identified, died after being struck by a lightning at Keshiari in Paschim Medinipur district, they added.

Trees were uprooted in Kolkata, Howrah and adjoining North-South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura, Purba-Paschim Bardhaman districts, disrupting traffic movement.

An official of the Indian Meteorological Department said the nor’wester had a wind speed of 50-60 km/hour across South Bengal.

Bringing much-needed relief from the intense heat, the maximum temperature in Kolkata was recorded at 32.2 degrees Celsius (3.2 degrees lower than normal) and the minimum at 23.4 degrees (2.7 degrees lower than normal), the official said, adding that the city registered 2.6 mm rainfall since 8:30 am.

"This was the third nor’wester that lashed the city and southern parts of the state since mid-April," officials said.