Man dies as car swept away while crossing submerged bridge in Bengal

Kolkata: One person died after his car was swept away by water while crossing a submerged bridge in West Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district, officials said on Saturday.

The vehicle was crossing the submerged Kalyanpur Housing area bridge in Asansol when it was swept away by water.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) recovered the body on Saturday and sent it for post-mortem, they said.

Locals said that the driver had been warned against crossing the submerged bridge.

Torrential rains have led to waterlogging in both Paschim Bardhaman and Purba Bardhaman districts and in Kolkata.

Flight operations to and from the Kazi Nazrul Islam (KNI) airport at Andal in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district were temporarily suspended on Friday due to water logging in and around its premises.

Officials said the airport is expected to be operational later on Saturday. Water levels on the runway and other airport service areas are receding, and restoration work is progressing, they said.

In Birbhum district swollen rivers have inundated many temporary bridges. The sanctum sanctorum of Kankalitala Temple in Birbhum has been under water since Thursday. The relentless downpour has caused the Kopai River to flow above the danger mark, leading to the closure of Kankali Temple.

In Salt Lake City, the Bidhannagar Municipality has deployed pumps to drain out from the IT hub and other areas.