At least 76 people have been killed by lightning in the last two days as violent storms and heavy rains lashed Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, disaster management officials said Wednesday.
Bihar reported most of the deaths after an overnight storm, which coincided with the arrival of the monsoon in the eastern state on Tuesday, left at least 56 people dead. Bihar disaster management minister Chandrashekhar warned that the toll could be higher, news agency ANI said.
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Though lightning strikes are relatively common during the June-October monsoon the death toll is particularly high for two days.
“We have confirmation of 47 deaths and fear the toll may go up as reports are pouring in from other districts, ” Anirudh Kumar, a senior official at Bihar’s diaster management agency, told AFP.
Five deaths were reported from Rohtas and Patna, followed by four each in Aurangabad, Nalanda and Buxar districts. Three deaths were reported from Saharsa, two from Bhojpur and East Champaran and one each from Banka, Muzaffarpur, Madhepura and Samastipur.
