Kolkata: Intense heat claimed two lives on Tuesday, one at Sonarpur and the other along the northern fringes near Barasat.
A 62-year-old woman who fell unconscious while travelling in an auto died in Sonarpur on Tuesday morning. At Bamungachhi railway station in Barasat, a man in his early 50s, who was travelling by a local train, passed away. The Met office had issued a heatwave warning for both districts.
According to sources, the deceased in Sonarpur, Shakila Bibi, had boarded an auto from Pyarabagan and was headed to Chouhati. She complained of sudden uneasiness and collapsed in the auto. Fellow passengers and auto driver Noresh Mondal tried to make her drink waterher. Seeing that there was hardly any response, Mondal drove straight to Sonarpur Rural Hospital.
“My auto was standing in a signal when other passengers said that she was fainting. Everyone tried to help her. When we took her to the hospital, the doctors said that she had died due to heat stroke. We informed Sonarpur police immediately,” said Mondal.
Since the deceased did not have any identity card, the auto drivers took it upon themselves to trace her family. They took her photograph and shared it on social media. One of them gave his number so that family members could contact him.
“Within an hour, we got response from the family. They called me up and we told them about the incident and asked them to come to the hospital,” said Tapas Roy, another auto driver on the same route.
In Bamungachhi, the man in his early fifties was travelling in a crowded Bongaon-Majhehat train. Sources said he fell unconscious in the train and passengers brought him off at Bamugachi station. Later, he was declared dead at Barasat Medical College. Doctors suspect the death was due to heat stroke.