Guwahati, April 1: At least four deaths were reported from four districts in Assam after thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning, lashed various parts of the state on Sunday afternoon and evening, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) informed on Monday.
Officials said a four-year-old boy, identified as Samin Mandal, died after a single-engine boat capsized in the Brahmaputra in South Salmara-Mankachar district amidst adverse weather conditions on Sunday evening.
According to reports received till Monday afternoon, two others, including a child, who were on the boat, were missing after the mishap took place in the Hatsingimari area around 5pm on Sunday.
The boat was reportedly carrying 18 passengers, and was crossing the river to reach Alga Char in Nepur. Fifteen passengers were said to be rescued by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).
On the other hand, two lightning deaths were reported from West Karbi Anglong and Udalguri districts on Sunday.
According to an official report, the deceased have been identified as Pintu Chauhan (17) of Donka revenue circle and Ruparam Basumatary (46) of Jiyaguri village under Mazbat revenue circle in Udalguri district.
Meanwhile, a 30-year-old woman, identified as Sakhi Begum Laskar, died in a storm that lashed Rajghat village under Sonai revenue circle in Cachar district around 11pm on Sunday.
Notably, adverse weather conditions had affected normal operations of aircraft at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here on Sunday afternoon
Owing to thunderstorms and heavy rain, visibility dropped drastically and six flights had to be diverted.
Such was the impact of the storm that a terminal’s ceiling collapsed and rainwater gushed in and flooded a portion of the terminal.
According to the weather bulletin issued for the next 24 hours by the Met office here on Monday afternoon, “thunderstorm and lightning with gusty winds with speed reaching up to 40 to 50 kilometres per hour are very likely to occur at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya.”
“Thunderstorm and lightning with gusty winds with speed reaching up to 30 to 40 kilometres per hour are very likely to occur at isolated places over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Thunderstorms and lightning are very likely to occur at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh,” the bulletin issued by the Regional Meteorological Centre here said.