At least four people were killed and several others remained missing as cyclone Nilam crashed into the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh Wednesday evening, said officials on Thursday.

The cyclone brought heavy showers and gusty winds to the southeast coast of India facing the Bay of Bengal, after landing there Wednesday afternoon.

One sailor was killed and five others were missing when an oil tanker went aground off the coast of the southern city Chennai, while at least three people were killed in Andhra Pradesh state after the landfall of Nilam.

The captain of the oil tanker, MT Pratibha Cauvery, ordered sailors to abandon ship after the vessel lost anchor and drifted at the beach of Chennai, where the storm uprooted trees and electricity poles while causing traffic jams on the road.

Authorities also evacuated nearly 4,000 people in the historic coastal town of Mamallapuram north of Chennai to relief centers.