Overview
- A nor’wester struck Naranpur in Keonjhar on Thursday afternoon and strong winds and rain caused a temporary tent to collapse, killing three tent-house workers.
- The deceased were identified as Alok Chipindia, Sagar Nayak and Petu Nayak, and one other worker was pulled from the debris and taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
- District administration and police teams carried out rescue and recovery operations and retrieved the bodies from under the wreckage.
- Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief and announced an ex gratia payment of ₹4 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased, and local reports say trees, electric poles and several houses were damaged and power was disrupted.
- Meteorologists note that nor’westers are sudden pre-monsoon storms and that a lower-than-normal number of these storms this season has worsened heat in parts of Odisha, which has already seen other recent deadly wind and lightning incidents.