At least 107 people have died from lightning strikes in bihar and some other eastern states , officials said.
Some 83 people were killed in Bihar after being struck by lightning, and another 24 died in northern Uttar Pradesh . Dozens more were injured, officials said.
Lightning strikes during the June-September annual monsoon are fairly common in India. But Bihar’s disaster management minister, Lakshmeshwar Rai, said this was one of the highest daily tolls from lightning the state had recorded in recent years.
More than half of the deaths were from the flood-prone northern and eastern districts of Bihar, he added. Rai warned the death toll could rise further as his government was still waiting on casualty reports from the interior parts of the state.
Heavy rain is forecast to hit Bihar on Friday and Saturday, according to the Meteorological Department office.
In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, most of the deaths were reported in Deoria district and alahabad authorities said.
Prime minister Narendra Modi late on Thursday tweeted his condolences to the victims’ families, adding that both state governments were carrying out urgent relief work.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives due to heavy rain and lightning in several parts of the states of Bihar and UP.
“बिहार और उत्तर प्रदेश के कुछ जिलों में भारी बारिश और आकाशीय बिजली गिरने से कई लोगों के निधन का दुखद समाचार मिला। राज्य सरकारें तत्परता के साथ राहत कार्यों में जुटी हैं। इस आपदा में जिन लोगों को अपनी जान गंवानी पड़ी है, उनके परिजनों के प्रति मैं अपनी संवेदना प्रकट करता हूं।”, the Prime Minister said.
