The first major thundershower of the season on Wednesday claimed seven lives in lightning strikes in five districts, according to respors received in Dhaka. The thundershower however brought relief from swealterning heat of the past several weeks.
Of the seven people reported killed and six others injured in lightning three were killed in Rajbari, and one each in Narayanganj, Sunamganj, Chandpur, and Gopalganj, according to the reports.In Rajbari, three farmers were killed as lightning struck them in Goalanda, Baliakandi and Kalukhali upazilas of the district in the morning.
Police said Zakir Hossain, a farmer and son of Habi Sheikh of Debgram union in Goalanda upazila, was killed when a thunderbolt struck him while he was working in a field amid rain.
Besides, Murad Sheikh of Natunchar village in Baliakandi upazila and Kurman Mandal of Bohorkalukhali village in Kalikhali upazila were killed in separate incidents of lightning during rain.
In Narayanganj, Kawsar, 25, a dredger worker and a resident of Fatullah, was killed by lightning in Fatullah Launch ghat area near the Buriganga River here on Wednesday.
In Sunamganj, Md Shahidullah, son of Jaha Alam of Nutanhati village of Tahirpur upazila, was killed as a thunderbolt struck him while swimming in a river, said Tahirpur thana OC Md Shahidullah.
In Chandpur, a farmer was killed and six school students were injured in lightning strike at Charbhanga village in Haimchar upazila today. The deceased was identified as Abdur Rahim,40.
Haimchar thana officer-in-charge Maniruzaman said two of the injured students were admitted to Haimchar upazila health complex while four others given first aid.
In Gopalganj, Nuru Mollah, 60, a muazzin, was killed as a thunderbolt struck him at Basabati Gopinathpur village in sadar upazila in the morning, said SI Idris Ali of Gopinathpur police investigation centre.
The onset of the month of April is a signal of the advent of the Kalbaishakhi (Nor’wester) season in Bangladesh. It is a transition from summer to the rainy season. Violent localised storms are its normal features. – News Desk
