Five killed in N Bengal as cold wave dominates

Darjeeling, West Bengal, Jan 6 (UNI) Five people have died so far due to cold wave sweeping across North Bengal for the past few days.

A severe cold wave condition has gripped most of Darjeeling and Himalayan foothills of the West Bengal for the last few days.

Dr Subir Sarkar, Head of Met department, University of North Bengal (NBU) told UNI the cold wave would continue in northern parts of Bengal for another 24 hours.

Darjeeling and some districts of North Bengal are facing sharp fall in the night temperatures.

The cold wave claimed one life in Islampur in North Dinajpur district and another in Ghoksadanga in Jalpaiguri.

Coochbehar district and the adjoining areas continued to struggle with low visibility due to dense fog in night and early morning. On Friday morning a road accident took place at Raichenga near Falakata in Jalpaiguri district.

Three persons, including a child, were killed and 26 others injured when a maxi-taxi fell off the road due to low visibility, said Jalpaiguri Police Super Mr Tripurari.

While Darjeeling recorded the lowest temperature of one degree Celsius on Friday night, Siliguri continued at 7.5 to 8 degree celsius.

The entire area was enveloped in fog since last few days.

In Dooars temperatures hover between seven and nine degrees and dense fog have caused visibility problems.

UNI