N Online:
Seven people, including two schoolboys, were killed by lightning strikes in Cumilla and Kishoreganj districts on Monday.
In Cumilla, four people lost their lives in separate incidents in Barura and Muradnagar upazilas, according to Bangora Bazar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mahfuzur Rahman.
Among the victims, Fahad Hossain, 13, son of Khokon Mia from Poyalgaccha village, and Saimon Hossain, 13, son of Abdul Barek, were struck by lightning while flying kites around noon in Barura upazila. Both were class VI students at Boroharipur High School.
In Muradnagar upazila, Nikhil Debnath, 64, and Jewel Bhuiyan, 30, son of Jashim Uddin Bhuiyan, were killed by lightning while working in their paddy fields at Korbanpur Purbapara in the morning.
Meanwhile, in Kishoreganj, three more fatalities were reported due to lightning strikes across different locations.
Witnesses said Fulesa Begum, 65, wife of Asrab Ali from Raniganj Kewarjor in Mithamoin upazila, was struck and killed while working outside her home at Shantiganj Haor around 8:00 am.
In another incident, Indrajit Das, 36, son of Jatindra Das from Halalpur village, died after being hit by lightning while working in a paddy field at Halalpur Haor during morning rain.
Elsewhere, Swadhin Mia, 14, son of Idris Mia from Khayerpur village in Astagram upazila, was killed by lightning while harvesting paddy at Khayerpur Haor, according to Ruhul Amin, Officer-in-Charge of Austagram Police Station.
On average, lightning strikes claim around 250 lives annually in Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Thunderbolts also kill or injure a significant number of livestock.
Lightning strikes are most frequent between April and June, particularly over flatlands and haor areas.
According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 2,164 people died from lightning strikes between 2011 and 2020. In 2016, the government officially declared lightning strikes a national disaster due to the rising death toll.
