Lightning strikes in Bihar districts kill 11; govt announces ~4L each for kin

PATNA: Lightning struck in Bihar’s Saran, Patna, Nawada, Lakhisarai and Jamui districts on Sunday claiming lives of 11 people and left around eight injured.

Five persons died in Saran, two each in Patna and Nawada while one person each lost their lives in Lakhisarai and Jamui districts.

Expressing grief over the incident, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced a payment of ~ 4 lakh as ex-gratia to next of the kin of each deceased. In Saran, five people including three of a family were killed and two women injured in separate incidents. The first incident occurred in Mahamda village when health department officials were collecting sample for Corona virus from 50 persons. Three of a family including woman and minor died in lightning. Fire services personnel reached the spot and admitted them in Garkha primary health centre where the doctor declared them ‘brought dead’.

Circle officer of the Garkha, Mohammad Ismail said two women from Panapur were injured in the lightning. He said that on the directive of state government he immediately provided cheque of ~4 lakh each of the family. Reports from Nawada said that two persons including a man and woman died separately when man was in his agriculture field while woman was coming from a forest after collecting wooden. In rural Patna, 15-yearold was struck when he was sitting in a mango orchard in Gopkita village while another person died when he sleeping on his terrace at Bihari Bigha locality of Barh.

FIVE PERSONS DIED IN SARAN, TWO EACH IN PATNA AND NAWADA WHILE LAKHISARAI AND JAMUI DISTRICTS REPORTED 1 DEATH EACH