Bhubaneswar:

As many as five persons died in lightning strikes in Odisha’s Bargarh and Balangir districts on Wednesday.

Sukhdev Banchor (58), Niroj Kumbhar (25), and Dhanurjya Nayak (45) from Dewandihi village in Bargarh district had taken shelter under a banyan tree near the village when the lightning struck. All three died on the spot, while two others sustained injuries in the lightning strike on Wednesday afternoon.

In another incident, Suryakanti Kharsel (40) and her 18-year-old son Deepak from Chaulbanji village in Balangir district died due to a lightning strike while working in their paddy field.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased persons.

The Chief Minister also wished a speedy recovery to the injured persons, as he instructed the concerned district administrations to provide free treatment to them.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dharamsala:

A 69-year-old man and his grandson were killed after being struck by lightning in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, officials said on Friday.

Thakur Das and his grandson Ankit (19) were grazing goats along with others in Rakh village near Palampur when the incident happened, they said.

Das’ relative Sanjay Kumar, who was with them, survived and reported the incident, they said, adding authorities have dispatched a team to retrieve the bodies and rescue any remaining individuals.

In a separate incident, over 60 sheep were reported to have died due to a lightning strike in Mahal Chakban Dhar, a part of the Dharamsala sub-division.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Dharamshala Dharmesh Ramotra sent a team from the Animal Department to assess and address the situation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)