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GUWAHATI — Four persons were killed and nearly 53,000 people affected as a thunderstorm wreaked havoc in Assam, officials said on Monday.
A four-year-old child died and two persons went missing after a boat capsized in the Brahmaputra in South Salmara-Mankachar district on Sunday night, while one each died in Cachar, West Karbi Anglong and Udalguri in storm and lightning related accidents.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah dialled Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to enquire about the situation in the state and assured him of all assistance.
The storm accompanied by a downpour lashed several parts of the state on Sunday evening, uprooting trees and electric poles and damaging houses, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) CEO Gyanendra Dev Tripathi said.
"A country boat sank at 5 pm yesterday at Nepurer Alga village while heading to Nepurer Alga ghat from Sishumara ghat. A child's body was recovered by locals and two people are missing," he told PTI.
The deceased has been identified as Samin Mondal (4), while Kobat Ali Mondal (56) and Ismail Ali are missing, Tripathi said.
"An SDRF team started a search operation this morning and deep divers from Dhubri and Goalpara districts also joined them. An NDRF team is en route to the site to assist in the rescue efforts," he said.
The ASDMA is also sending drones with pilots for surveillance during the operation, the CEO said.
He said there were 15 passengers on the boat, and the rest of them swam to safety with the help of locals.
Meanwhile, in Cachar, a woman was caught in the midst of the storm and lost her life. She has been identified as Sakhi Begum Laskar (30) of Sonai, the ASDMA said.
Incidents of lightning killed Pintu Chauhan (17) of Donka in West Karbi Anglong and Ruparam Basumatary (46) of Mazbat in Udalguri, it said.
Besides, six people were injured when lightning struck them. They were admitted to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital, it added.
In a bulletin, the ASDMA said the storm affected nearly 53,000 people across 919 villages in 22 districts. A total of 14,633 houses were either partially or fully damaged.
It also said that over 10 hectares of cropland have been damaged, while at least three cows died.
Huts, schools, shops, Anganwadi centres and other institutions have been damaged across the state, while scores of vehicles were damaged when trees fell on them.
An official said that hundreds of visitors were stranded inside Garbhanga Reserve Forest near Guwahati till the early hours as the entire road was blocked by uprooted trees.
"The SDRF and district administration carried out rescue operations till around 3 am and cleared the road. Hundreds of people were visiting the forest as it was a Sunday," he said.
People faced a harrowing time in reaching their destinations with many roads blocked till this morning by uprooted trees and electric poles.
Besides Sarma, Shah spoke to the chief ministers of West Bengal and Manipur in the wake of severe losses suffered by the three states due to the storm and assured them of all possible help from the Centre.
Shah also appealed to the BJP workers in the three states to provide every possible help to the affected people during this hour of distress.
Sarma said, "His assurance of full support and assistance for relief and rehabilitation on behalf of the Govt of India is deeply appreciated."
The Chief Minister's Office said on X that Sarma was constantly monitoring the impact caused by heavy rains and storm, while the State Emergency Operation Centre was coordinating round the clock with all the district administrations.
The storm also caused damage to the terminal building of the Guwahati airport, forcing the authority to halt operations for some time and divert six flights to other destinations.