Four children killed in lightning strike in Jharkhand's Sahibganj

SAHIBGANJ: Four children were killed in a lightning strike in Jharkhand's Sahibganj district on Sunday, police said.
The incident happened at Babutola in Radhanagar police station area in the afternoon when the children, in the age group of 9-12, were playing in a mango orchard, they said.
"Four children were killed, while one was injured. The injured child is undergoing treatment at a hospital," Superintendent of Police Anuranjan Kispotta told PTI.
The child undergoing treatment at the Rajmahal sub-divisional hospital is a nine-year-old girl, said doctor Uday Tudu, its deputy superintendent.
Among the deceased are one Humayun Seikh's 12-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son. Mehboob Seikh's 10-year-old son and Ashraful Seikh's nine-year-old son also lost their lives, police said.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the deaths.
"The sad news of the deaths of four children due to lightning in Rajmahal of Sahibganj district was received. May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved family members to bear this difficult hour of grief," he tweeted.
Heavy rains accompanied by lightning, hailstorm and wind with speed of 40-50kmph are likely in parts of Jharkhand over the next two days, the weather office said.
"Rain, thundershower and lightning were reported from parts of the state on Sunday, and it may continue for the next 48 hours due to a cyclonic circulation over southeast Uttar Pradesh," said Abhishek Anand, the in-charge of Ranchi Meteorological Centre.
The rains brought down the maximum temperature by up to 10 degrees Celsius in the state.
Daltonganj recorded a maximum temperature of 30.7 degrees Celsius, 10.2 notches below the normal, while Ranchi witnessed a maximum of 31.2 degrees Celsius, a drop of 5.5 notches from the normal.