Ammon News - 12 people have lost their lives in fresh incidents of lightning strikes in seven districts of Bihar in the past 24 hours, officials at the chief minister’s office said on Monday.

The deaths were reported from seven districts of the state. While three deaths each were reported from Jamui and Kaimur districts, Rohtas reported two deaths followed by one each in Saharsa, Saran, Bhojpur and Gopalganj.

With the fresh fatalities, the number of deaths due to lightning strikes in the state has gone to 40 this year. On Saturday, 10 people had died in separate incidents of lighting strikes in the state. The victims belonged to Nalanda, Nawada, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Saharsa, Rohtas, Saran, Jamui, Bhojpur and Gopalganj districts.

Official records show that 25 people have been killed in separate incidents of lightning strike in the state in the past five days alone. Authoritative sources said that people have been advised to remain indoors during heavy rain followed by lightning. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin.

The New Indian Express