Lightning Strike Kills 18 In Two Days In UP

A total of 18 people have been killed in incidents of lightning strike in Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, officials said Tuesday.

They said 12 were killed on Tuesday -- seven in Kaushambi and five Prayagraj -- and the rest six on Monday -- four in Ghazipur and two in Bhadohi. According to a government statement, in Kaushambi, five persons in Chail tehsil have lost their lives, while one each died in Manjhanpur tehsil and in Sirathu.

Superintendent of Police of Kaushambi Hemraj Meena said the deceased have been identified as Bittan Devi (60), Basant Pasi (45), Munna (13), Dharmendra (33), Ranjana Devi (19), Ramprasad (50) and Laxmi Devi (31).

The death happened on Tuesday, he said.

In Bhadohi, one death each has been reported from Gopiganj and Aurai police station area of the district.

The deceased persons in Bhadohi are Adarsh Yadav (10) of Aurai area and Kusum Devi (33) of Gopiganj, officials said, and added that they died on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of lives, and has directed officials to provide financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the each deceased in Bhadohi and Kaushambi.

Officials in Prayagraj district said five persons were killed and four injured on Tuesday in lightning incidents.

Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Jagdamba Singh said Munni Devi (48), Manju Devi (50) and Uma Shankar (35) died due to lightning in Handia tehsil of the district.

Bitola Devi (45) of Koraon tehsil and Rahul Nishad (27) of Meja tehsil also died due to lightning, Singh said.

In Ghazipur, four people, including three cousins, died after being struck by lightning in separate incidents, police said.

Late on Monday evening, three cousins took shelter under a tree outside Mastipur village under the Bhudkuda Kotwali police station area. They died after they were struck by lightning, while another teenager suffered serious burns, the police said.

The deceased have been identified as Abhishek Saroj (12), Mukesh Saroj (12) and Sagar Saroj (14), they said.

In another incident, a farmer, Amendra Chauhan (49), died after he was struck by lightning late on Monday evening while he was returning home from his field near Nasidabad village under the Badesar police station area, the police said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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