E-Paper
Two die, 25 others injured in lightning strike during football game in Odisha
As lightning started, the players rushed to take cover but tragically two of the football players were killed and 25 including players and spectators were injured
In a tragic incident, two football players were killed and 25 others were injured as lighting stuck them while they were playing a game in a village of Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Sunday afternoon.
Officials said a friendly football match was on at a playground in Baneilata area under Nuagaon block of Sundargarh district on Sunday afternoon when the sky was overcast and it started to rain. As lightning started, the players rushed to take cover but tragically two of the football players were killed and 25 including players and spectators were injured.
Both the players died on the spot while 12 others were critically injured and 13 others also received injuries.
The injured were admitted to the local primary health centre and later shifted to the Ispat General Hospital in Rourkela.
Also Read:3 children climb hillock for better mobile connection, struck by lightning
IGH hospital superintendent Dr Jagdish Chandra Barik said a couple of the injured are critical.
Odisha is the most lightning prone state in the country as it witnessed 21.73 lakh lightning strikes that claimed 5,706 lives in the last two decades.
Odisha has been hit by over 10,000 strikes every year between 2000 and 2020 except for 2001, 2017, and 2018.
According to IMD’s Annual Climate Summary - 2021, at least 213 people died due to lightning, the highest among all the states in the country.
Since April 2016, Odisha government is paying ₹4 lakh as compensation to every person who died due to lightning.
The rise in fatalities due to an increase in frequency and intensity of lightning strikes prompted the IMD to start lightning forecasts from April 1, 2019.
