Indian anchor faints during live news reading

Amid an intense heatwave in West Bengal, Lopamudra Sinha, an anchor for Doordarshan, fainted while delivering live news.

In a video translated from Bengali to English, she explained, “While I was presenting the live news, my blood pressure suddenly dropped, and I lost consciousness. I had been feeling unwell for some time, but I thought drinking water would alleviate the discomfort. Normally, I don’t have water with me while reading the news, whether it’s a 10-minute segment or half an hour. I usually gesture to the floor manager and request a bottle of water. However, on that particular day, when the general news was being broadcast and no soundbites were playing, I couldn’t get any water. Finally, when a soundbite aired, I managed to have some water.”

“Initially, I thought I could complete the remaining four news stories. I somehow managed to finish two of them. The third story was about the heatwave, and as I was reading it, I started feeling increasingly unwell,” she added.

“I tried my best to hold myself together and complete the segment, but I couldn’t. During that story, my vision started to fade. The teleprompter dimmed, and I lost consciousness.”

Panagarh, located in the West Burdwan district, recorded the highest temperature in the state at 42.5°C, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that other areas in South Bengal would also experience heatwaves in the next few days. (Also Read: IMD weather report: ‘Severe heatwave’ alert for West Bengal. Top updates)