West Bengal: 8 drown, several missing in flash floods during idol immersion in Jalpaiguri

Guwahati: In a tragic incident, at least eight people drowned and several others went missing after they were swept away in the Mal river in Jalpaiguri district due to flash floods during idol immersion on Vijayadashami on Wednesday.

As per the source, four of the dead are women.

The incident occurred when hundreds of people gathered on the banks of the Mal river to participate in the immersion ceremony.

“People were swept away when flash floods suddenly struck. Eight bodies have been found so far, and we have rescued around 50 people”, officially stated.

As many as 13 people who received minor injuries were admitted to a nearby hospital.

“The search and rescue operations are underway and being carried out by teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), police, and local administration. The search operations have started downstream,” the official added.