New Delhi: Over 18 people have died and several others have been injured in lightning strike incidents across India. Several states, including West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, reported lightning strikes on Saturday (August 7, 2021).
At least four people have been killed by lightning strikes in two districts of West Bengal. A senior official reported that two people were killed in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, while the deaths of two more, including a woman, occurred in Purba Bardhaman district. In addition, seven people were injured by lightning in Purba Bardhaman districts, an official said, adding they were all working in agricultural fields.
In the meantime, State Health Minister Mangal Pandey announced that seven people were killed in a lightning strike in Bihar’s Banka district on Saturday. During the past two decades, lightning activity has increased across India, said Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh on Friday. ‘The news of the death of 7 people due to lightning in Banka district is very sad. The Bihar government is with the victim’s family in this hour of disaster. My deepest condolences to the dead and injured in this incident. I pray to God to give peace to the dead and speedy recovery to the injured,’ Pandey tweeted following the tragedy.
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On Saturday, in seperate incidents of lightning strikes in three districts of Odisha, at least five people were killed, including three women. Several of them were struck by lightning while engaged in paddy cultivation work in Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Balasore districts, the police said. Injured persons were rushed to the hospital and are currently receiving treatment. In addition to this, one person was electrocuted in a paddy field at Kasabajaypur village in Balasore district. A police officer said that the deceased had apparently come into contact with a live electric wire attached to a lift irrigation point.
On Saturday, lightning struck two people in the Palamu district of Jharkhand, police said. An officer said that a 45-year-old farmer was working in his field in Karkatta village, while a 13-year-old boy was returning home to Kuhkuhu village when they were struck by lightning. He said that the bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.
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