Eight killed as lightning strikes Dinajpur villages

At least eight people were killed and seven others injured when lightning struck different villages at four Upazilas in Dinajpur.

Seven farmers were hit by a bright flash of lightning while eating lunch at a straw shed beside an Aman paddy field in Birol Upazila during rains on Saturday afternoon, Birol Police Station OC Abdul Mazid told bdnews24.com.

Four of them died in the incident. The deceased were identified as Meser Ali, 36, Shukur Uddin, 40, Kushu Chandra, 17, and Banita Roy, 30.

Two of them died on the spot while the two others at a hospital, OC Mazid said.

He said total seven people injured in lightning were admitted to M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital. 

Two goats were also killed after the shed caught fire by the lightning, the OC said.

A 12-year-old boy, Shakibul Islam, also died in the same Upazila after being hit by lightning. 

Chirirbandar Police Station OC Haresul Islam said Halima Khatun, a 32-year-old housewife died after being struck by lightning when she went out in the courtyard during rains.

Officers-in-charge of local police stations in Bochaganj and Khansama Upazilas confirmed the news of deaths of two in similar incidents.

Housewife Gita Rani, 47, died after being struck by lightning while taking cattle home from a field in Bochaganj.

The victim in Khansama was identified as Dinbandhu Roy, 40.