DHAKA, Sept 9 (NNN-BSS) – At least nine people were killed yesterday, by a massive lightning strike in Bangladesh’s Sirajganj district, 134 km north-west of the national capital, Dhaka, a local police official said.
Md Noor Alam Siddiqui, additional police chief of the Sirajganj district, said, “Nine people, including five of the same family, were killed in lightning strike in Sirajganj’s Ullapara sub-district.”
Two others were injured in the incident, he added.
He said, all the victims were working in a padi field, when the lightning strike hit them, at around 3:30 p.m. local time.
The thunderbolt struck them abruptly, leaving five people dead on the spot and six others injured critically. Four of the injured died later in a hospital, he added.
Deaths due to lightning strikes are common in Bangladesh, during this time of the year. However, the country has seen a surge in deaths due to lightning strike over recent years, and some of the country’s experts have blamed the situation directly on climate change.
