32 dead after being hit by lightning during Indian monsoon
7 Oct 2013 14:11
By Steve Robson
Some victims were hit while out working in paddy plantations over the weekend
Lightning strikes have killed 32 people, including nine children, during a monsoon in India.
The northeastern states of Bihar and Jharkhand have been badly hit by torrential rains and strong winds this weekend.
Authorities in the states said some of the victims were struck while out working in paddy plantations.
Others were inside a school which was hit by lightning.
State Disaster Management Minister Renu Kumari Kushwaha said: "About 24 people including seven children were killed Saturday and Sunday by bolts of lightning across Bihar."
In neighbouring Jharkhand, eight people including two children died, Puran Mahto, an official in the state's Dhanbad district said.
Graphic footage from News Express Special shows victims lying in their hospital beds blackened as a result of having been hit by lightning.
Deaths as a result of lightning are not uncommon during the Indian monsoon season, which lasts from June until October, but the toll from Saturday and Sunday is unusually high.
