Four people, including a four-year-old girl, were killed by lightning strikes on Thursday in different parts of Telangana, which had been witnessing thunderstorms for the last three days, reports reaching the state capital said.
Two deaths were reported from Sangareddy district and one each in Mahbubnagar and Vikarabad districts.
In Boda Janampet village of Balanagar block in Mahbubnagar district, four-year-old Anusha died and her sisters Jyothy (2) suffered shock, when lightning struck a tree under which the girls were taking shelter.
The girls went to the agricultural fields along with their parents Vadde Narasimhulu and Yadamma, who were harvesting their groundnut crop in the afternoon. Suddenly it started raining heavily, accompanied by thunder and lightning, prompting children to take shelter under a nearby tree.
Anusha who was hit by the lightning was burnt to death instantaneously.
Another girl Jyothy managed to escape with a shock and she was immediately shifted to Niloufer Children’s Hospital in Hyderabad, where she was declared out of danger.
In Dharmapur village of Raikode block in Sangareddy district, 45-year- old Shahbuddin, who took his cattle into a nearby forest area to graze, died on the spot when he was struck by lightning. The deceased was standing under a mango tree.
{{/usCountry}}In Dharmapur village of Raikode block in Sangareddy district, 45-year- old Shahbuddin, who took his cattle into a nearby forest area to graze, died on the spot when he was struck by lightning. The deceased was standing under a mango tree.
{{/usCountry}}In Sadasivapet of the same district, 35-year old Nagamani also died in a similar fashion, when lightning struck her as she went to a nearby forest area to graze the cattle.
In Kandlavelli village of Vikarabad district, Chintakindi Satish (25) was struck by lightning when he went to the terrace of his house to cover cement bags with a polythene sheet to prevent them from being damaged by sudden thunderstorm.
Several parts of Telangana have been witnessing heavy rains coupled with gales and hailstorms for the last three days, causing extensive damage to paddy, maize and mango crops in over 1.30 lakh acres. The crops, mostly paddy, are in the harvesting stage. The officials are yet to assess the quantum of damage to the crops.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Meteorological department predicted moderate rains and thunderstorms in Sanga Reddy, Nizamabad, Jagityal and Rajanna-Sircilla districts in the next 48 hours.