10 killed, several injured as storm hits Kolkata

At least 10 people died in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal after heavy rain and strong winds on Tuesday evening. Flights, train services and traffic in Kolkata were severely hit too due to thunderstorm and the strong winds.

Of the 10 killed, four each died in Kolkata and Howrah districts. One death was reported from Bankura and another from Hooghly, reports NDTV.

"A nor'wester hit the city with a gale force of 98 km per hour around 7.42 pm," Regional Meteorological Director GK Das said.

Services at the Kolkata airport were affected for over an hour and a half with flights bound for Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Agartala taking off late.

At least 40 incidents of trees uprooting were reported in Kolkata. Trees also fell on cars on Red Road and Southern Avenue area. Traffic was disrupted on Strand Road and surrounding areas after trees fell.

Some metro services were hit after trees fell on overground rail lines. Some metro services were hit after trees fell on overground rail lines. Near the Belgachia station, a metro train was stuck underground and passengers were rescued around midnight by a disaster management team.

Peak time traffic was also disrupted in IT hub Saltlake Sector 5 as uprooted trees blocked roads. Rain and storm also affected surrounding districts like Hooghly, Howrah, the two 24 Parganas and Medinipur. Several were reportedly injured in rain-related incidents there.

Waterlogging was reported from several areas of Kolkata, including Behala in south Kolkata.

Mobile and internet services were hit with the storm snapping overhead wires and damaging mobile towers.

Many took to Twitter to complain about power cuts and train delays of up to three hours.