Tornado fury in Orissa, WB

Most of the deaths occurred on account of house collapses. A number of the victims were plucked 10 feet off the ground by the storm and dashed to death. 25 deaths and 100 injuries were reported from three villages of Gobarghat, Madhapur and Bairat villages in Jaleswar block of Orissa’s Balasore district. Among the dead were 16 school children in Gobarghat where a primary school building collapsed, official sources said.

Massive rescue operations were underway on both sides of theborder, with senior officials, medical teams, ambulance and fire brigade personnel on the scene with the rains holding off.

Rescue operations were initially hampered in Jaleswar and Dantan. In Jaleswar, the Orissa trunk was blocked as six lorries overturned in the storm. But this was cleared by 2000 hours tonight.

Official sources said that Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik was scheduled to visit the affected areas tomorrow.

All roads leading to Dantan were cleared of uprooted trees and rescuers who sought to gain entry were met by the pathetic wails of affected people. Sources apprehended that the death toll might rise.

Official sources on the Orissa side said, the G K Bhattar hospital at Jaleswar had already admitted 95 injured persons.

On this side of the border in Midnapore district, the injured were admitted to Egra, Midnapore, Belda, Mohanpur and Kharagpur hospitals.

A report from Barasat in North 24 Parganas district said two women were killed after being struck by lightning at DakhinAkratala village under Sandeshkhali police station of the district today, according to the superintendent of police, N Ghose. The West Bengal Finance Department has granted Rupees one crore grant as relief, State Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said tonight. "I have sanctioned Rupees one crore for relief so that the officers working in the tornado-affected areas know they are protected by the Finance Department," Dasgupta said.

In a separate incident in Orissa, one person was killed and four others injured when lightning struck them at Bhalupur village in Baliapal block, near Jaleswar, yesterday.

State Relief Minister S R Mahato and Water Resources Minister Nanda Gopal Bhattacharya are leaving tonight for the affected areas. Chief Minister Jyoti Basu tonight asked the district administration to undertake immediate relief measures for the tornado-affected people of Midnapore district.