Two school children drowned on Saturday afternoon after the boat in which they were practicing for a rowing event overturned due to the sudden storm in south Kolkata, police said.
Pushan Sadhukan and Souradeep Chatterjee, both aged 14, were students of a reputed school in Kolkata, said a senior police officer.
“They were practicing on Saturday afternoon for the inter-school rowing championship. They won the semi-finals earlier in the day. The final was scheduled to be held on Sunday,” the officer added.
There were many boats in the Rabindra Sarobar lake, in which students and others were rowing. “When the storm hit, they all came back. One boat overturned. There were five persons in the boat. Three swam back. Two couldn’t manage and drowned,” said Chandan Roychowdhury, secretary of Calcutta Rowing Club.
After the two boys were fished out of the water, they were taken to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival, police said.
Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim and the city’s police commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal rushed to the spot.
Kolkata, along with several districts in southern part of West Bengal, were hit by a storm around 4.30 pm on Saturday. Winds gusting up to 90km per hour hit the city, followed by rains.
At least three other persons were killed in separate incidents during the squall in the districts. While one was killed after being hit by lightning, two others were killed when trees gout uprooted and fell on them.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/two-boys-rowing-in-south-kolkata-lake-drown-after-storm-police-101653158396799.html
