Lightning strikes kill man, 14 cows in Pabna

Sojib was herding his cattle in a field in the district’s Ishurdi Upazila during the incident

A man has died after being hit by lightning strikes as he was herding cattle in a field in Pabna’s Ishurdi Upazila. At least 14 cows also died in the incident.

The lightning strike occurred on Kamalpur Char in the Luxmikunda Union of the upazila on Tuesday evening, said Ishurdi Police Station chief Orbinda Sarkar.

The dead man has been identified as Sojib Hossain, 25, a resident of Kamalpur village in Luxmikunda Union. He used to take his cattle to the Kamalpur Char on a regular basis.

Sojib’s father Alhaz Pramanik said he had asked his son to return home soon when it started to drizzle in the evening.

“But my son left us forever. I cannot accept this at all. He was the sole earner of the family.”

Locals said the family suffered losses worth over Tk 1 million in the incident.

Orbinda said the locals rescued Sojib when the rain stopped and took him to Ishurdi Upazila Health Complex where a doctor declared him dead.

“Sojib’s body has been handed over to his relatives. The local administration will provide financial assistance to his family,” he added, asking people to remain alert during such thunderstorms.