Lightning Kills 5 Persons Including Woman, Minor Boy in Kendrapara Dist

Kendrapara: At least five persons including a woman and a minor boy were killed by lightning strikes on Tuesday evening in separate incidents across Odisha’s Kendrapara district.

Three lightning deaths occurred in the Garadpur block. One each was killed in Aul and Kendrapara blocks due to lightning strike.

All victims were involved in farming activity in their agricultural fields when lightning struck them.

The bereaved family members of the deceased persons are being to be provided Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia aid each from Special Relief Commission’s gratuitous relief fund. In Odisha lightning has been recognized as a State-specific disaster.

Lightning accounts for almost one-third of the total number of disaster deaths including fire, sunstroke, hailstorm, flood, cyclone, boat capsize, drowning and snakebite in Odisha.