On Sunday, a lightning strike in Jaipur, northern India, killed at least 16 people and injured many more.
The victims were snapping selfies in the rain on top of a guard tower of the city’s main tourist destination, the 12th-century Amer Fort. Hundreds of people have also died as a result of lightning strikes in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. According to government estimates, almost 2,000 Indians are killed each year by lightning strikes.
According to a senior police official, the majority of those killed at the fort’s tower were young. When the tragedy occurred, twenty-seven persons were on the fort’s tower and wall, and several of them apparently leaped to ground. According to local media sources, nine additional people were killed by lightning strikes on Sunday in Rajasthan, where Jaipur is located.
In Uttar Pradesh, at least 41 persons were reported dead, the most of whom were women and children. The city of Allahabad had the highest death toll, with 14 people killed (also known as Prayagraj). Two guys were struck by lightning while taking cover behind a tree in Firozabad city and perished instantly. The remaining deaths occurred in a number of different districts throughout the state.
Compensation for the relatives of those who died has been announced by the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, as well as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Madhya Pradesh, at least seven people perished. According to experts, the two states have a high incidence of fatalities because a huge number of people work outdoors in agriculture and construction.
The data from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said since the early to mid-1990s, lightning strikes have increased by 30 percent to 40 percent. In just 13 hours in 2018, the southern state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,749 lightning strikes. In June of last year, more than 100 people were killed by lightning in two states. Officials believe they’re more common in regions with less tree cover, making people more vulnerable.
For more articles visit our website,