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1 killed, 24 injured as lightning strikes Gurupadgiri Hill in Bihar’s Gaya: Police
One devotee was killed and 24 injured, four critically, after lightning struck two spots at Gurupadgiri Hill in Bihar’s Gaya during Raksha Bandhan.
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One devotee was killed and 24 people were injured, four of them critically, after lightning struck two locations on the historic Gurupadgiri Hill, a famous Buddhist and Hindu site, in Bihar’s Gaya district on Saturday evening, police said.
More than 3,000 devotees had gathered on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan when the weather changed and it started to rain amid loud thunder and lightning. Lightning struck the temple complex at the summit and an area near the narrow Andheria-Dhandheria cave, where people had taken shelter under trees, police officers said.
Vikas Kumar alias Niwas (24), a resident of Chhatisa village, died and three others were injured in the lightning strike on the temple campus, while 21 people suffered burns near the cave.
Block Development Officer Shashi Bhushan Sahu and SHO Shivnanadan Kumar reached the site, which is approximately 2,500 feet above ground after climbing 1,680 steps, the only way to reach the site.
Policemen and locals formed a human chain from the top to the bottom of the hill and brought the injured down after they sustained burn injuries to their limbs and other parts of the body. The injured ranged in age from 10-year-old children to 55-year-old adults, officers said.
Rain and the mountain’s rugged, steep terrain caused significant difficulties for the rescue efforts.
The 24 injured people were taken to the nearest Community Health Centre at Fatehpur, where doctors referred critically injured Rupa Kumari, Suresh Manjhi, Sanjay Paswan and Subham Kumar to Magadh Medical College and Hospital in Gaya. The rest of the injured were treated at the CHC and sent home after their conditions stabilised, CHC in-charge Dr Ashok Kumar said.
