Bhubaneswar: At least 52 people have been killed after being struck by lightning in different parts of Odisha over the past three days, officials said today.
While 41 people died after being struck by lightning in various places on Saturday, as many as 11 deaths took place in the state yesterday, Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said citing reports received from different districts.
The maximum number of eight deaths were reported from Balasore district, seven people died in Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj, six in Khurda district, five in Cuttack, four in Jajpur and Dhenkanal, three in Nayagarh and two in Keonjhar and Nabarangpur, it said.
Lightning claimed one life in Kendrapara, Jharsuguda, Puri and Deogarh districts, the SRC office said in a statement.
An amount of Rs four lakh would be given by the government as ex-gratia to the kin of each deceased, it said.
Odisha government has declared lightning as a State Specific Disaster.