Six Orissa teenagers killed by lightening

The incident occurred when the teenagers were taking shelter in a building which was under construction. (Source: Express photo)

Six teenagers, aged between 14 and 20 years were killed instantly, and ten others suffered a huge shock after being struck by lightening in Khurda district of Orissa on Wednesday afternoon. The incident occurred when the teenagers were taking shelter in a building which was under construction, to escape a sudden thunderstorm.

According to the police, the boys of Jaripada village were playing cricket on Wednesday afternoon when they had to cut short their game due to rain. There were around 50 people at the playground, including 22 players and an umpire. “As the children raced off to escape the rain, the lightning started. Around 20 of them rushed to an under-construction building that had no roof. Then, the thunder cracked,” said Das.

“One of the deceased teenagers was badly burnt, with a huge surge of volt searing through his body,” said Khurda SP Dilip Das. The rest of the deceased don’t have much signs of injury, he added.

The deceased were recognized as Bibhuti Parida (19), Rahul Nayak (15), Sk Okil (14), Ajit Behera (15), Shahrukh Khan (20) and Satya Pradhan (15). Doctors said that the condition of Bhubaneswar Mohapatra (17), one of the injured teenagers was very critical.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 1.5 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased teenagers. He said that the state government would bear the expenses of the injured children.

Of the 10 injured, 7 are being treated at Khurda Community Health Centre, and 3 are in Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar. The injured children are now out of danger.

Source:: Indian Express