16 students injured in lightning strike at school in Kendrapara

In a tragic incident, as many as 16 students were injured after lightning struck their classroom at Kudanagari High School under the Garadpur block of Kendrapara district on Saturday. 

The two severely injured students, identified as Amrita Panda and Adyasha Laxmi Samal, have been shifted from the Patakura Community Health Centre (CHC) to the Kendrapara district headquarters hospital (DHH) for better treatment. 

All the injured have been identified as Class VI students of Kudanagari Adarsha Vidyalaya, which was functioning temporarily from the high school. Of the 16 students, 14 are boys and two are girls. 

 According to a source, it was the last period and the students were in their classroom when they saw a bright light and heard a deafening sound. Some of the students immediately lost their senses and some others complained of head reeling and nausea. They said a short circuit occurred in their classroom following the lightning strike. 

The school teachers and villagers immediately rushed the injured students to Patakura Community Health Centre from where Amrita and Adyasha were shifted to Kendrapara district headquarters hospital.