Lightning strikes kill father, daughter among 8 across country

At least eight people, including a father and his 10-year-old daughter, were killed in lightning strikes across seven districts of Bangladesh between Friday morning and afternoon, local police and officials said.

The deaths were reported in Tangail, Barguna, Patuakhali, Shariatpur, Pirojpur, Barishal and Chandpur as thunderstorms swept through different parts of the country on June 5. The victims included four farmers, a schoolboy, a young laborer, and the father-daughter pair.

In Tangail's Delduar upazila, Khalidur Rahman, 29, and his daughter Khadija Akter, 10, were struck while getting off an auto-rickshaw in Shahdaripara village on their way to a relative's house, according to police and family members. They were taken to the local health complex, where doctors declared them dead. Police said Khalidur's mobile phone and shirt were burned in the strike. In the same district, two cattle also died after being hit by lightning.

Elsewhere, farmer Mohiuddin, 40, was killed while working in a field in Barguna. In Patuakhali, Mujibor Sardar, 50, died after going to bring back cattle from farmland as rain began. 

Similar incidents claimed the lives of two more farmers, Musha Hawlader, 45, in Shariatpur and Chhoarob Jomaddar, 50, in Pirojpur, both of whom were struck while retrieving cattle from open fields.

In Barishal, 18-year-old SSC examinee Tanvir Khan was killed while working at a fish enclosure near his home. In Chandpur, Nabi Hossain Miji, 27, died after being struck by lightning while returning home from work shortly before Friday prayers.

Police and local authorities said legal procedures were being completed in the respective districts, while several officials urged people to avoid open fields and seek shelter during sudden storms.