Eighteen people died and over 15 were injured when lightning stuck them at separate places in Odisha on Wednesday afternoon.
Five persons died due to lightning during the sudden thunder storm in Gnajam district. Two persons were killed in Shikharpur village while two others died Pagalbaba square in Hinjli block of the district. Another person was killed in Baragaon village under Purushottampur block of the district.
According to sources, at least seven persons were injured by lightning in Ganjam district. In Bhanjanagar area of the district several cattle were also reported to be killed or injured by lightning.
Three persons died and three others were seriously injured when lightning stuck them while they were putting thatch on a room of a temple at Labanagiri near Panchagaon village on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Another man died when lightning stuck him at Dhauli near the capital city.
As per reports from Kendrapara district, three persons were killed at Keredagada village under Pattamundai block. Another died in Karanja village under Mahakalapada block. In Bhadrak district, one person of Kandagaradi village and another of Bisrampur village of Chandbali block died when lightning stuck them. In Khurda district a woman was killed and three others were injured at Diagan in Nirakarpur block while six persons were injured in lightning at Totapada village in the same block.
Two girl students of Khuntapala village under Rasgovindpur block in Mayurbhanj district reportedly died when lightning struck them.
Western Odisha sizzles
Meanwhile, western Odisha sizzled under intense heat wave conditions, while the coastal belt received some respite as the mercury dropped following rainfall in several areas on Wednesday.
Bhawanipatna in western region turned out to be the hottest place in the State recording a maximum temperature of 44.7 degrees Celsius, while the mercury stood at 43.8 degrees C at Hirakud, the meteorological centre here said. - PTI
