17 dead, 6 injured as lightning strikes wedding party in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Aug 4 (EFE).- At least 17 people were killed and six others injured on Wednesday as lightning struck a boat carrying people to a wedding party on the Padma river in northern Bangladesh, according to the authorities.

Chapainawabganj district administration head Manjurul Hafiz told EFE the incident occurred around noon in the remote Shibganj area.

Shakib Al Rabbi, the administrative chief of Shibganj, told EFE that a total 17 people have lost their lives.

“We have got news of 17 deaths and six injured. Four critically injured people were sent to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for treatment,” he said.

According to the nonprofit Foundation for Disaster Forum, at least 255 people – 54 children, 34 women and 167 men – have been killed by lightning strikes in Bangladesh so far this year.

Most of these deaths occurred in the months of May and June, which accounted for 120 and 107 deaths, respectively.

Bangladesh classified lightning strikes a natural disaster in 2016 when, according to government estimate, over 200 people died in the month of May alone, including 82 people on a single day. EFE

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