Sonbhadra (Uttar Pradesh): Four people died and three others were grievously injured as lightning struck them in separate incidents in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district on Thursday.
Following the receipt of the information, police rushed to the affected area and admitted the injured people to Chopan Community Health Centre (CHC) for treatment. Whereas, bodies were sent to the hospital mortuary for post-mortem examination.
On Thursday afternoon, heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms was witnessed in the Chopan area of the district. To avoid rain, Gopal Singh (58), a resident of Preet Nagar, his son Chandan Singh (25), other villagers Algu (60), Raju Tiwari (48), Atma Tiwari (48) and Phoolmati (40) took refuge in a hutment near a bridge close to Sinduria village.
In the meantime, the lightning struck them. On hearing the screams, people from the nearby place rushed to the spot. A police team also arrived at the spot. The injured were rushed to Chopan CHC for treatment. The three people Gopal Singh, Chandan Singh and Algu were declared dead at the hospital. While three others critically injured are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In a separate incident, Kishore Umesh Agariya (14) also died from lightning at Sinduria village. The relatives rushed him to the hospital, where the doctors declared him dead.
A large crowd gathered at Chopan Hospital when they heard about deaths due to lightning. Obra Sub-divisional Magistrate Prabhakar Singh also visited the hospital. Speaking to reporters, the SDM said, "Three persons died due to lightning on Thursday when they had taken shelter in a hutment. One more death was reported in a village. Hence, four people died as lightning struck them. We are trying to create awareness not to venture out of home suppose it is raining."
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