The Hindu : International : Tornadoes kill 31 in Bangladesh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2005

International

International

Tornadoes kill 31 in Bangladesh

GAIBANDHA (BANGLADESH), MARCH 21. Two tornadoes tore through northern Bangladesh, killing at least 31 persons, injuring nearly 900 and leaving thousands homeless, officials said on Monday.

The tornadoes struck almost simultaneously late on Sunday, blowing away huts in dozens of farming villages in Gaibandha and Rangpur districts.

At least 28 persons were killed and about 800 injured in two areas of Gaibandha, 190 km north of the capital, Dhaka, the local administrator's office said. The tornado also flattened 700 mud and straw houses. Rescue teams have been dispatched to the area.

A second tornado swept through the neighbouring Rangpur district, killing at least three persons and injuring about 100, police said.

In the village of Khamar Doshalia in Gaibandha, many lost their homes as well as cattle and crops, journalist Afroza Siddique said after visiting the area.

``We were having our dinner when the storm smashed everything within seconds,'' Mr. Siddique quoted a farmer, who lost his only daughter, as saying.

Many families huddled together under open skies with the remains of their belongings.

Another Khamar Doshalia resident, Alim Uddin, was burying his 70-year-old mother.

``I was outside when I heard a loud noise. I hurried back, but my home was blown away within seconds. Later, I found my mother's body under a wall,'' Mr. Uddin said.

The tornadoes blew away or levelled thousands of trees and electricity poles, plunging villages into darkness and hampering rescue work.

In Gaibandha, rescuers recovered 21 bodies from the debris of collapsed homes and trees, while seven injured people died en route to hospital, news reports said.

At least 70 hospitalised victims were in serious condition with head and chest trauma and limb injuries.

Tropical storms are common in Bangladesh, a delta nation of 140 million people.

Last April, tornadoes in the northern Netrakona district killed at least 74 persons and injured nearly 1,000. — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International