Lightning now kills one in Faridpur, two in Chandpur

Three  people lost their lives to lightning stries in Faridpur and Chandpur.

In Faridpur, a 25-year-old man who had come to his native village on Eid holidays, was killed after being struck by lightning early on Wednesday.

The deceased was identified as Rakibul Islam 25, son of Chiru Matubbor from South Gopalia village in Sonapur union of Saltha upazila. He worked with a private firm in capital Dhaka.

“He had come to his native village to celebrate Eid with his family. The tragedy occurred around 6.30am as Rakibul was going to the cow shed," said Khayruzzaman Babu, chairman of Sonapur UP.

In Chandpur, a man was killed by a lightning strike while his brother died of heart attack in Uttar Kachiyara area under Sadar upazila of the district on Wednesday morning. 

The deceased were identified as Rubel Hossain, 26, and Sohel Hossain, 24, both residents of the area. 

Dr Mozammel Hossain, resident medical officer (RMO) of Faridganj Upazila Health Complex citing eyewitnesses said Rubel died of lightning strike while Sohail died of a heart attack when he went to the spot where his brother died. They were brought to the hospital dead at around 9.45 am. 

The bodies were sent to Chandpur Government General Hospital for postmortem, said officer-in-Charge (OC) of Faridganj Police Station Md. Shahid Hossain.

On Tuesday, six people, including two teens, were killed and three others were injured in lightning strikes in Tangail, Brahmanbaria, Meherpur and Habiganj districts.

According to government data, lightning strikes — electric discharges between the atmosphere and the ground — have claimed about 2,800 lives in the past 11 years.

An approximate 200 people die every year in lightning strikes in Bangladesh, more than by floods, cyclones and other natural calamities, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

Experts said about 70% of the total lightning strikes usually occur between April and June, and advise everyone to move with caution during this time.