Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Sep 2: Three people, including an elderly couple, were killed in two separate incidents of mud-house collapse in West Bengal’s Bankura district since Tuesday night following incessant rainfall across South Bengal, district administration officials said on Wednesday.
One incident occurred in Sonamukhi, while the other was reported from Simlapal. The Sonamukhi collapse claimed one life, while two people were killed in the Simlapal incident.
According to district officials, 76-year-old Beli Ruidas was inside her mud house in Kundapuskarini village under Sonamukhi Police Station limits when a rain-weakened wall collapsed on Tuesday night.
Her son and daughter-in-law managed to escape after noticing signs of an imminent collapse, but the elderly woman could not be evacuated in time and died on the spot.
Family members alleged that they had recently received Rs 1.20 lakh under a state housing scheme to construct a new house. However, they said the amount was insufficient to complete the construction, forcing the family to continue living in the old mud structure.
In the second incident, Palku Baske and Soma Baske, an elderly couple from Kushtora village in Simlapal block, were killed when a rain-damaged mud wall collapsed on their house in the early hours of Wednesday while they were asleep.
Neighbours, assisted by local police, rescued the couple and rushed them to Simlapal Block Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
The bodies of all three victims have been sent to Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Kolkata and several districts of South Bengal have been receiving heavy rainfall for the past two days, triggered by a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal.
Weather conditions are expected to improve slightly from Thursday. However, scattered rainfall is likely to continue across southern districts until September 8.
The weather department has issued a warning of heavy rainfall in Purulia, West Burdwan and Birbhum on Wednesday.